The time of Betfred’s ownership of the Tote has officially come to an end. The racing pool, once run by the state, was purchased by Betfred back in 2011 through an auction format. But Betfred boss Fred Done has sold off the remaining 75% of the operation to the UK Tote Group.
The UK Tote Group, which was known as Alizeti Capital when they purchased the first 25% share back in the middle of last year, are paying £95 m to Betfred to secure the entire pool operation. The first 25% cost them £20 m.
Last year, Alex Frost who is the head of the UK Tote Group secured an agreement with a consortium of 55 UK racecourse (called Britbet) which said that the Tote would be present at those courses in the next seven years, as well as expanding the operation to the international scene.
Punters do have a lot more online horse racing betting options at their disposal than just the Tote of course, and that has had an impact on its operations. It is reported that the Tote takes about a 3-4% stake on all UK horse racing betting. But the UK Tote Group announced that they are looking forward to the Tote entering an exciting new era because of this deal.
Billionaire Michael Spencer has brought up a 10% stake in the UK Tote Group and also seems keen to drive the pool-based betting operation forward. He believes that the product still has its place in the UK betting and it can be taken forward with technology and the launch of a new Tote website.
