Online gambling group to invest £7.7m in HQ leisure development

Gaming giant bet365 Group is to invest £7.7m to improve the health and wellbeing of its staff at its Stoke-on-Trent headquarters.

The online gambling company was founded in 2000 and has grown rapidly to become the largest private sector employer in the city.

It will now build a leisure and training centre of 33,500 sq ft at Etruria Valley Business Park. The development will feature two five-a-side football pitches, a multi-use games area, changing rooms, training rooms and offices.

Richard Smith, group property director at bet365, said: “We realise the importance of health and wellness in the workplace and encourage colleagues to enjoy the new facilities once completed.”

The development will be built by St Modwen, with the 10-month project scheduled to start next month.

It is the latest project at the business park, which is part of the Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone.

Euan Lindsay, development manager for St Modwen, said: “This really is an exciting development for the Etruria Valley site and we are very pleased to be able to assist bet365 to further develop its facilities here in Stoke-on-Trent.

“Following the recent developments for DPD and the West Midlands Ambulance Service, we are seeing significant ongoing investment in Etruria Valley and look forward to further developments coming on stream.”