Coral calls shop closures 'inevitable'

Rivals William Hill and Ladbrokes have both announced similar plans in recent months, with the two blaming the government’s recent range of measures on gaming machines for the move. “As a result of the announced changes, and consistent with statements made by our competitors, the group regards shop closures, and therefore job losses, as inevitable,” the statement read. 

In further financial news, Coral’s retail division said that a series of poor football results and the phasing of machine content costs were blamed for EBITDA falling 19 percent, to £38.1m, on last year. However, a strong online performance, where EBITDA was £11.4m, a 138 percent increase on last year, helped contribute to Gala Coral’s overall growth. Gala Coral’s chief executive Carl Leaver said: “The group delivered strong underlying growth for the second quarter in a row, with underlying year to date EBITDA ahead in all divisions and 16 percent overall. 

“Online growth momentum is very encouraging with Coral.co.uk now coming through strongly. The combination of a single online wallet, improved content and simplified customer journeys is driving both actives and spend per head significantly ahead of expectations. “The take-up on mobile is particularly pleasing with over 66 percent of sportsbook actives now using our mobile platform. “During the quarter we launched ‘Coral Connect’, which enables customers to access the single online wallet in shops both  over-the-counter and on machines. The initial take up of the Connect card has been positive with sign-ups already ahead of our full-year target," he concluded.