BetFred chief takes long-term view

NORTH west betting magnate Fred Done says his BetFred empire is doing “better than most” during this recession, and is continuing to grow.

Mr Done said: “Retail is as tough as I have known it, but you can’t just curl up into a ball and die, you have to plan for the future and the market will come back. People are still having a flutter, but the amount of money they are putting on is not what it was, people are drawing their horns in a bit.”

Warrington-based BetFred currently has around 770 shops nationwide. A further 40 will be added this year, towards a goal of 1,000 within the next three years.

Mr Done said: “We were opening 80 stores a year, so we have slowed down. We are obviously strong in the North West and would like to up our presence within the M25.”

The new stores will create around 350 jobs and cost around £7m.

BetFred had declared an interest in buying the state-owned bookmaker The Tote, before the government halted the sale process last year because it could not command a good price for the Wigan-based business.

Mr Done said: “I don’t expect the Tote to come back on the market for at least three years – until economic conditions improve drastically.”