Shining light on the story in its article, The Times quoted several unnamed sources who allege that the talks are “at an advanced stage”, but neither O’Hare or Entain provided comments at this moment.
Bar One Racing was founded in 1995 after O’Hare decided to transition from running amusement arcades into the betting sector, building the brand to become one of the largest regional independent bookmakers.
For the last 20 years, O’Hare managed to find success with Bar One Racing across both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. One of the key strategic moves behind this was the acquisition of Sharon Byrne’s Bruce Betting business, merging both and increasing the number of Bar One stores from 20 to 30 after the deal was completed.
Bar One Racing currently boasts a portfolio of 60 retail shops. In 2022, the brand managed to get €181m in revenue compared to the €132m the year prior, with gross profit going up from €11m to €17m.
Obtaining Ladbrokes’ Irish holdings would significantly increase O’Hare’s market share in the market, one which like its neighbour in the UK is highly competitive and is undergoing a period of regulatory change.
The Entain-owned bookmaker has 108 shops in Ireland and 66 in Northern Ireland, while overall official data shows that Ladbrokes holds more than 2,700 licensed premises in total across both the UK and Ireland.
Entain’s UK and Irish retail business has been having a hard time as of lately, however. For FY24, Entain reported UK and Ireland EBITDA going down by 7% to £437m (FY23: £470m) as a result of inflation and higher operating costs like increased marketing.
“While 2024 was a year of transformation and strong operational progress, we also faced necessary adjustments in response to regulatory changes and market conditions,” Stella David, Entain CEO, said at the time.
“We have taken a disciplined approach in reassessing the value of assets in markets where conditions have changed, ensuring we remain agile and focused on long-term value creation.”
Dingnews.com 01/07/2025