5. Ladbrokes Coral (2017)
Welcome to the EGR Power 50 rankings of the online gambling industry’s most powerful operators
It’s no secret the spectre of the triennial review has hung over Ladbrokes Coral for much of 2017. CEO Jim Mullen could be read in national newspapers warning about job and tax revenue losses, while Barclays estimated a £10 limit on stakes would cost the group £276m in 2018. The review was also said to be one of the reasons GVC’s bid to take over the firm failed, with simply too much uncertainty to complete a multi-billion pound deal.
However the review has also masked a digital business growing in confidence and size by the quarter. H1 revenues climbed 14% in constant currency to £374.5m, with double-digit growth in both sportsbook and gaming. Digital EBITDA also climbed 39% to £73.7m, which was particularly impressive given the platform integration carried out in H1 – a job which so many rivals have struggled with.
The merger – which was in the midst of completing prior to last year’s Power 50 – also continued to pay dividends with synergies of £45m in 2017 alone. The adoption of a multi-brand strategy that lets the group target different segments of customers while managing risk on one trading platform has also been a cornerstone of its recent success.
And of course LCL is still making the most of the retail estate, causing it so many headaches at the moment. Approximately 53% of Coral.co.uk net revenue and 36% of Ladbrokes.com revenue came from multi-channel customers, while in Italy, 37% of Eurobet.it actives were initially acquired in the Eurobet Retail estate.
Other firms are looking to close that gap, but LCL expects to continue leading the space with its Omni-channel 2.0 strategy, with new apps for both brands and new products and features on the way. In fact the firm recently rewarded shareholders with a hefty dividend, in what Mullen suggested was a sign of things to come.
“The business is in good shape and we have come a long way in a short time,” he said. “The increase in the dividend reflects both the progress made, the opportunities offered by the merger, and our confidence in the future.”