The decision to put UK government owned bookmaker Totesport up for sale was announced by Gordon Brown in 2009. Since then there have been a number of bids for the company, which have now been whittled down to a final two.
The Totesport brand is made up of both high street betting shops and a series of online products which include sports betting as well as an online casino and online bingo site.
Current bidders for the brand include high street bookmaker Betfred, who have also recently purchased online bingo site Bucky Bingo, and SIP (Sports Investment Partners) who are headed by current British Airways and former Liverpool FC chairman, Martin Broughton. Broughton is joined by ex Ladbrokes Exec Chris Bell. Both companies bids value the company at around £200 million.
Totesport has a long history of supporting horse racing, and both companies have factored this into their bids. Betfred's offer is said to be worth £120 million to racing over the next seven years, whilst SIP's bid guarantees £11 million in the first year with at least £9 million in the following years. SIP would also allow racing to have a direct say in the running of the company by allowing the nomination of two board members.
Betfred, who already run a similar operation to Totesport, would likely merge the companies - potentially resulting in a loss of up to 150 jobs. In contrast SIP would retain the Totesport brand, securing the jobs of the current Totesport Staff.
The final decision should be made before the end of May.
Update: In the end Betfred won the bid, after increasing their offer to £265 million. Full details here.
