19/07/2005 Office of Fair Trading not to refer Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes, the betting and gaming division of Hilton Group plc, was today informed by the Office of Fair Trading that its acquisition of Jack Brown (Bookmaker) Limited, the Welsh betting shop company it acquired in July 2005,will not be referred to the Competition Commission.

The decision is subject to Ladbrokes selling four shops where the OFT considers local competition would be affected by the acquisition.

The purchase of Jack Brown, and its 141 shops increased Ladbrokes' presence in Wales from 29 shops to 156 shops making it the leading Welsh bookmaker. The remaining 14 shops Ladbrokes acquired in the sale are located in the Birmingham area.

Following the purchase Ladbrokes has 2,119 shops in the UK, and 2,567 shops worldwide (UK, Channel Islands, Ireland and Belgium).

Commenting on the announcement Alan Ross, Managing Director of Ladbrokes Retail commented: "The small number of shops that we have to sell is in line with our expectations as Jack Brown was an excellent geographical fit for us. Our redevelopment of the Jack Brown estate is progressing on schedule."

Ladbrokes is now beginning the roll out of its advanced screen system (LES 2) which it expects to complete by year end, and its leading electronic point of sales (EPOS) system, which it expects to complete by early 2006.

The number of FOBTs across the Jack Brown estate has already increased by 229 machines.

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