Bookies' tie-up is a winner already, says Paddy boss

Betting chief Breon Corcoran today said the merger between Paddy Power and Betfair was galloping towards higher cost savings after both sides found the going better than expected.

The merger will achieve synergies of £65 million by 2017, up from £50 million originally anticipated and a year earlier than planned.

“The momentum is fine and people have really got on with it. We have more certainty and the businesses have similarities, there were people who worked for both companies,” Paddy Power Betfair chief executive Corcoran added.

The merger, agreed last September, pushed the group into a £47.5 million half-year loss.

Pro forma net revenue rose 18% to £759 million while underlying earnings rose 31% to £181 million.

Heavy losses from horse racing weighed on sportsbook revenues but this was offset by a strong Euro 2016, which brought in about £38 million.

Corcoran said that apart from Usain Bolt and women’s hockey, the Olympics had generated little betting interest.