Coral are likely to be among the most well-known betting brands that are in operation currently. They’ve been about since 1926 and in that time have built a reputable reputation that has helped them become a high street regular throughout the UK.
The company has completed a number of mergers and acquisitions in that period, none bigger than their most recent acquisitions that include that of Gala Group and Ladbrokes. They are able to run over 1800 betting shops in the UK as well as 25 casinos, and over 300 betting outlets in Italy.
High Street Betting Shops
The first betting shop of the group was established in the year 1961, following the legalization of gambling stores within the UK. They were among the first shops to hit the ground running with high street betting as in the almost 40 years before that they had managed to form an enormous following through betting by post and gambling in licensed establishments.
The expansion for the brand was quick and in just 12 months they had already been able to successful open a further 23 stores. Coral wanted to ensure that they were able to keep up with the pace of brands like William Hill back in the 60’s . Even though they did not really surpass their dominance, they were never too far behind.
In the mid 1970’s Coral had now opened hundreds of betting stores. But, their keen eye for growth meant that they were also pursuing other forms of gambling, like bingo, casino hotels and leisure clubs. This allowed them to have a diverse portfolio and eventually made them the global powerhouse that they are currently.
The mergers between Ladbrokes and Gala also allowed them to expand their reach once more. The agreements put in place meant that for a lot of the shops owned through these brand names, notably Ladbrokes the latter, they were able to keep their original name, but they all added to the total that the company.
At the time of writing this piece, Coral had amassed an impressive portfolio of more than 2,1000 betting outlets across the globe, as well as many brick-and-mortar casinos in addition.
On the Internet
The online presence of Coral is quite good and although it’s fair to say they faced some difficulties during the beginning but the site is now one of the top layouts you can come across. The design is very much experimented with and tested on site, and there hasn’t been many modifications in the past few yeas. It also demonstrates how great the site is, eliminating the necessity of a new design.
When it comes to appearances the site has a lot to enjoy on the this site. You are able to get a quick overview of the markets for betting that are next to kick off, but also get a good deal of options for navigation to get to where you need to be. If we had to make a single criticism of the website we’d think it’s full of amount of information available the moment you enter.
They provide a variety of features though and most of them aren’t likely to find in their stores on the high street. The best addition in more recent years has been the live streaming section, that has exploded. You get a huge range of sports that are available to anyone with a funded betting account. On top of this other features include live betting, live scores, results, statistics blog, news, Coral Radio, football jackpots, loyalty sections as well as many other banking options.
Visit this website for Coral opening times.
Finally, the online site is great for betting promotions too. In reality, Coral are probably one of the best in terms of offers for new players, but, but also existing players too. The offers range from higher odds to specials for money back But for the vast majority of occasions, there’s something to get your teeth stuck into.
Coral Connect
Its Coral Connect card is another fantastic addition to the brand. It allows you to make bets online, and cash in your winnings at the shop as soon as that bet is settled. You can link your account with any high street bets as well which means you can keep track of them within your betting account or visit a retailer to find out whether you’ve won.
Coral Connect card Coral Connect card can be used at any of the 1800 stores across the UK as well as allowing customers to take advantage of exclusive in-store and online promotions, bonuses and rewards.
About Coral
The Coral brand was set up under the direction of Joseph Kagarlitsky, who later changed his name to Joe Coral. Kagarlitsky was born in Poland but his family immigrated to UK during 1912. Coral follows a similar route to a number of betting companies . He actually began his career working for firms as a runner taking bets on the streets and then pacing them inside the offices of the companies.
In 1926, he made the decision that it was the right time to go on his own and the name ‘Coral’ was formed. Coral started life taking bets on a variety of races, where he was able to gain two track pitches within the UK. The company began to gain momentum it was able to purchase the first office in 1943. He then opened a credit office within London’s West End.
“Coral’s” First High Street Shop
When betting shops were legalized in 1961, Coral took the chance to really move the business forward and set his first high-street shop. In these days, Coral was able to outdo the competition by offering massive commissions which helped him gain massively popularity through the odds that were offered by Coral.
The popularity of the game in London continued to grow and, as a consequence, he switched his attention to bingo and casino halls, in addition. Within one year, he had already managed to open another 23 betting shops across London as well as other regions of the UK too.
Takeovers
The first of many acquisitions of the Coral brand took place in 1981, when the brewing company Bass Limited bought Coral for an unspecified amount. While Joe Coral stayed on as CEO of the company his job was to be a numbing factor when it came to day to business operations. As an outcome the company was Bass who wanted to take the company ahead.
The next decade saw the company would open a another 650 betting shops however, on top of that, they made huge gains in the gambling, bingo and leisure industry as well, which was in large part due to the influence that was exerted by Bass PLC within these sectors.
Joe Coral sadly passed away in the year 1991, however he will be forever remembered as the man who created one of the most renowned betting companies worldwide. At the time of his passing, Coral was widely thought of as one of the top 3 bookmakers worldwide, alongside the likes of William Hill and Ladbrokes.
A lot of you will be aware of the current sate of play surrounding the merger of Coral and Ladbrokes However, the original purchase plan was made public in 1997. Ladbrokes had set about to try and buy Coral by acquiring Bass PLC, but after being recommended to the UK Monopolies and Mergers Commission the decision was made that the merger couldn’t go through as they would enjoy an unfair advantage over the other players.
Gala Coral Merger
It’s also worth mentioning a little about the Gala brand. The brand was born as a consequence of Bass PLC, the then owner of Coral, buying Gala from Granada Theatre Limited in 1991 for a sum that was reported to be up to PS141million. In the same year Gala was rebranded. Gala brand was relaunched with a fresh image. Then, in 1997 , an investment buy-in was able to purchase all the clubs from Bass at a cost which was estimated to be over of PS235million.
Gala expanded over the following years, acquiring multiple properties, including casinos and bingo. Gala was then sold at a cost of PS1.24billion at the hands of two private equity firms, Candover and Cinven. The group then merged both Gala and Gala Group and the then Coral Eurobet Group in a transaction believed to have a value of PS2.15billion in 2005 which makes them the third largest company in bookmaking and Bingo in the UK.
Other Mergers & Sales
Two more significant mergers as well as sales came about in 2015 . In 2015, it was announced for the first time it was announced that Caledonia Investments PLC would be purchasing the Gala Bingo Holdings Limited brand for PS241 million. It was also announced that Ladbrokes would merger into Gala Coral in a deal that was worth PS2.3 billion.
The merging of the two brands has it’s complications though It’s likely that they’ll be forced to sell some of their high street stores to comply with regulations of the Competition and Markets authority. While no agreements have been reached, it could be as many as 400 shops in the combined chain of 4,000.