Who Owns Betfred?

Betfred is a popular bookmaker in the United Kingdom. It’s the brainchild of Fred Done, now a British Billionaire. Betfred first set up shop in Ordsall, Salford, in one betting shop in 1967. By 2004, it had grown into a business worth over £3.5 billion, an exponential spike from £550 million in 2003. By 2019, Betfred had grown to a £10+ billion company. Today, it has its headquarters in Birchwood. Warrington and other offices in Media City.

With that short introduction, here’s everything you should know about Betfred’s history and who owns it. If you want to see our honest opinion of their betting site, check out our 2024 Betfred review.

History

Betfred was first set up in 1967. The first bookmaker shop was financed by Fred Done with the capital he got from winning a bet he had placed on England to win the World cup in 1966. Thirty-one years later, Done Bookmakers acquired Robert Walker, a large chain of bookmakers at the time. This saw Done Bookmakers grow by 100 shops.

Over the years, a mixture of acquisition and organic growth has contributed to this gambling company being one of the largest bookmakers in the UK.

By 2000, Done Bookmakers had over 200 shops, and in 2002, they opened their first outlet in London. The name was changed to Betfred in 2004, and in the same year, they launched Betfred.com, a digital platform offering online casino & gaming services, sports betting online games, lotto, bingo, online poker, visual sports, and pool betting. Later in 2004, Betfred made their first betting millionaire, Ken. He pocketed £1,132,657 from a Salford shop.

The growth of their retail shops continued, and in 2005, they opened their 500^th shop in Cardiff. In 2013, Betfred grew into Betfred TV, a channel available in racecourses and their shops. This was the first in-house TV in the UK.

In 2017, they had 1,650 shops all over the UK. The purchase of over 300 shops following the merger of coral and Ladbrokes in 2016 helped Betfred get to this point. It’s worth noting that Betfred operates shops on 51 racecourses across the UK, including Cheltenham, Epsom, and Newmarket.

To help further their ’Uncomplicated’ brand positioning, Betfred made Stuart Pearce, former England footballer, a brand ambassador.

In 2021, Betfred partnered with The Game Day, NFL sports betting media throughout 2022. And in March 2022, Betfred was made the headline sponsor of Manchester’s midnight night walk for St. Ann’s hospice, where they raised £2 million.

Recently, Betfred announced that they bought majority shares in LottoStar, a South African bookmaker.

Betfred’s Founders

The founders of Betfred are billionaire brothers. But they weren’t always rich. Below is a short biography showcasing their journey from rags to riches.

Fred Done

Fred Done was born in March 1943 and is now a British Billionaire and owner of Betfred, a bookmaking chain with over 1600 shops around the UK. Fred grew up with three siblings in Greater Manchester. At the age of 15, Fred and his brother Peter left school without qualifications after working in their dad’s illegal bookmaking business.

He has investments in Adzooma, an online advertising company based in the UK. He has also invested in GGRecon, an esports publisher in Manchester.

Although it’s his brainchild, he stepped down as the organization’s CEO in 2021 and assumed the role of the Chairman. By 2021, Fred Done was estimated to be worth £1.235 million

Peter Done

Peter Eric Done is a British Billionaire born in 1947. He’s the managing director and founder of Peninsula Business Services, which was set up in 1983. Peter Done also co-founded Done Bookmakers.

Peninsula provides advice and counselling to staff members in the public sector. By 2018, Betfred had over 60,000 businesses subscribed to their services and serve over 30,000 clients with 2,700 staff members. Peninsula Business Services has clients in the UK, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia.

The Company’s Main Sponsorships

Football

Between 2006 and 2013, Betfred was the official betting partner of Manchester United.

In 2016, Betfred announced they’ll be sponsoring the Scottish League Cup for three years, later rebranding it to Betfred Cup. In 2017, Betfred became the official shirt sponsor of the Bolton Wanderers.

In 2019, Betfred started shirt sponsorships for RCD Mallorca for two years.

Horse racing

Betfred is by far one of the largest horse racing sponsors in the UK. They have races on racecourses across the UK, including Uttoxeter Racecourse, York Racecourse, and Newmarket Racecourse.

In 2005, it was one of the sponsors of the Group One Sprint held at Haydock Park. However, the sponsorship was terminated in 2016.

Betfred has at one point sponsored prestigious races at the Cheltenham Gold Cup from 2012 to 2015.

Rugby league

In 2016, Betfred started a three-year sponsorship of the Rugby Super League with ten teams spread throughout England and one from France. However, in 2021, they resigned from this agreement.

Snooker

Between 2009 and 2012, Betfred sponsored the World Snooker Championship but later lost its sponsorship rights. But in 2015, Betfred again became the official tournament sponsor and increased the prize money to £375,000. In 2020, Betfred extended their deal with the Snooker Championship to 2022.

The Tote

In 2013, Betfred won an auction to buy The Tote in a deal amounting to £265m. The counter bid was made by Sports Investment Partners, headed by Sir Martin Broughton. Betfred committed to giving £155m into racing for seven years and also creating a Tote Racing Development Board.

This deal furnished Betfred with exclusive control over on-course betting systems for seven years. In 2018, this exclusive license by Betfred ran out officially.

Who Runs The Company Today?

After stepping down, Fred Done, the CEO, and founder of Betfred appointed Joanne Whittaker as the new CEO. She is a familiar face in the betting space, hence well positioned to steer the company into greater growth opportunities.

What is it’s total worth?

By 2019, Betfred was worth over £10 billion.

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