“The merger will accelerate the momentum that is underlying in our business”

In a previous interview you said that one of your pillars for growth was to focus on improving your retail performance. How do you plan to achieve this if you're being obliged to sell hundreds of shops ahead of your merger with Gala Coral?

Our commitment to sustaining a vibrant retail estate is unchanged and although we have to complete some retail divestments in order to satisfy the CMA demands the size of the enlarged retail estate post-divestments will still give us much larger scale across retail to deliver the exciting plans we have for retail growth and multichannel growth. Retail remains an important part of our strategy and the innovation we are delivering, not least through the increasingly popular self-service betting terminals (SSBTs), is cutting through to our recreational customer base.

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Companies like Ladbrokes have been forced to mitigate against a very high level of regulatory and tax burdens in recent times

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In February this year, William Hill filed a complaint to the CMA stating the merger between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral would pose a threat to the market, but this is not the first time we experience a wave of consolidation in the industry. What would you say to those opposing the merger?

We are focused on running our own race, securing the benefits of scale that come with a Merger and positioning ourselves as the market leader in an ever-changing industry. We are committed to working with the CMA and have been doing so thoroughly throughout a highly data-intensive process. When we announced the intention to merge last July we also forecasted that further consolidation would take place across the industry, and those forecasts have come to pass. We believe the industry landscape will favour those operators who can combine scale play with brand strength.

Australia has been a jewel in your crown recently. How's your market share there?

The successes we've enjoyed in Australia lately are a testament to the highly talented and committed team we have managing the Ladbrokes Australia business. They have a culture of innovation and professional disruption to the established market that is continuing to make waves. Ladbrokes Australia have rolled out some pioneering technology to help grow our market share and also reinforce the brand which we are building successfully. The direction of travel remains really promising and an exciting aspect of the Ladbrokes story is the opportunity that the core business here in the northern hemisphere has to emulate and learn from our colleagues Down Under.

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We believe the industry landscape will favour those operators who can combine scale play with brand strength

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What key opportunities are you looking to exploit?

Our strategy is really clear and we are nearing the end of our first year of implementing 'Plan A'. Improving our marketing capacity and expertise, growing and developing Ladbrokes Australia, growing recreational scale through improving retail footfall, digital excellence and leading on multichannel opportunities are all central to growth. Internationally, we are enjoying strong results coming out of Spain, Belgium and Ireland, and remain vigilant to international opportunities and threats, without being distracted from our core strategy.

What should we expect from the enlarged company under the new leadership over the next year?

We are not getting carried away but there is a quiet confidence that we are getting a lot more right than before, and we are now showing clear signs that we are beginning to motor. The management team are wholly focused on delivering Ladbrokes' Plan A and the merger will accelerate the momentum that is underlying in our business. In short, it gets us to where we want to be more swiftly. The benefits of being a major scale player and two brands under the merged company banner will also give us scope to appeal to more potential recreational customers. It's an exciting time but we are cautiously optimistic and reiterate that we have a long way to go and will not get carried away.

What challenges will you face in growing the business?

Companies like Ladbrokes have been forced to mitigate against a very high level of regulatory and tax burdens in recent times. Some of those burdens have combined to make running a profitable business all but impossible, and all we request is a period of clear air for us to fully understand how we can run a business that contributes enormously to the economy through employment and revenues against a backdrop of elevated burdens.

What is the 'One Ladbrokes' concept all about?

One Ladbrokes is about a single brand experience, irrespective of channel. Supermarket customers don't define themselves as being an online or a retail customer - they shop with a brand first and foremost. Our industry ought to be similar and it really doesn't matter whether our customers 'touch' us online or in the shop, as long as they find Ladbrokes first and stay with us or even come back to us. When we have them, the experience across all channels ought to be consistent and that cultural thinking lies at the heart of the Ladbrokes multichannel experience. We know we have a lot to do but the signs of early success give us confidence that we are going in the right direction.