Gala Coral to merge online divisions

The move will see John O’Reilly step down from his role as managing director of Coral Interactive but stay on as a consultant to the company for a minimum of 12 months. Andy Hornby, who previously served as chief operating officer of Gala Coral, will assume leadership of the combined online gaming division alongside his responsibilities for Coral Retail.

The merger marks a new phase of development at Gala Coral following the success of an ongoing growth program that was implemented in late 2012. Since its launch in September 2012, the initiative has helped Coral Interactive grow its net revenues by more than five times while Gala Interactive has seen net revenue more than double.

Carl Leaver, chief executive officer of Gala Coral, said: “We have seen huge progress in our online businesses over the last few years. “Now is the right time to bring together our collective knowledge and experience to ensure that our brands continue to develop strongly, while at the same time putting multi-channel at the heart of what we do.”

“John is an impressive leader who has been instrumental in reviving Coral's fortunes online. He will be missed as a key member of our senior executive team, but I am delighted not to be losing him completely.

“The combination of talent in the restructured Interactive management team puts us in great shape for the next phase of our growth.”