Winning streak ends in record pain at Gala Coral Group, as sales hit an all-time high but so do losses

By SARAH BRIDGE, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY

Updated: 07:16 EST, 19 January 2014

Betting giant Gala Coral Group has unveiled sales at an all-time high – at the same time as losses also broke records.

Turnover for the owner of the Coral bookmaking chain, as well as online betting businesses and Gala Bingo, hit £1.1billion for the year to September 28, 2013, just up from £1.06billion.

But a £59million VAT claim, interest payments on its £2.1billion debt and a £60million writedown on the sale of 19 casinos meant that it plunged to a pre-tax loss of £206million, up from £119million the previous year.

Break up: The group is keen to find a buyer for its bingo division

Gala Coral underwent a massive restructuring in 2010 that saw its three private equity owners wiped out over its £2.5billion debts and ownership pass to a group including private equity firms Apollo and Cerberus Capital. 

The group is pushing ahead with its long-term plans to break itself up, and is hoping to find a buyer for its bingo operation.

But bingo admissions continued to slip, and the betting shops, run by former HBOS boss Andy Hornby, were hit by bad weather and sports results that favoured customers.