GVC targets cost cuts after takeover of Ladbrokes Coral
Foxy Bingo owner GVC Holdings on Friday confirmed it is aiming for £100 million in cost savings from its £3.9 billion takeover of Ladbrokes Coral.
Although almost half the savings will be derived from merging the two firms’ technology platform, about 30% will be on “corporate and administrative” measures, which “may lead to redundancies where the businesses have overlapping functions or operational efficiencies have been identified”. Together, the two firms have more than 27,000 staff.
The deal, confirmed two weeks ago after a year of speculation, will see GVC pay cash and shares for the business, giving it a 53.5% stake and putting chief executive Kenny Alexander in charge. The final amount to be paid hinges on the Government review into staking levels on fixed odds betting machines, which account for more than half of the profits from Ladbrokes Coral’s 3700 betting shops.
GVC also confirmed former HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby will be a joint chief operating officer of the new firm.