What's the connection between a famous UK bookmaker and an even more famous US hotel brand?
By: MARTIN MCALLISTER
It could be forgiven to think that the name ‘Ladbrokes’ is only synonymous with the gambling industry. However, if one looks deeper into the company portfolio, they will find that in addition to being recognised as the world’s leading bookmaker, they also have the likes of Vernon’s football pools and Hilton Hotels International among their list of companies.
Originally formed as a bookmaking operation in 1886, betting on horses that were trained by one of the founding partners of the company, it was soon realised that taking bets rather than making bets would be a far more lucrative market to be involved in. Gambling was the company’s main business which they began first through the ‘gentlemans clubs’ of London and later through a telephone office. This office marked the first Ladbrokes betting office, as betting shops as they are today were illegal until 1961. An aggressive expansion campaign between 1964 and 1967 saw the group buy up properties, extending and refurbishing them to open as licensed betting offices. As a result, group profits soared as betting turnover increased markedly, allowing the company to float on the stock exchange for almost £1 million. In turn, the Ladbrokes shop estate ballooned from around 400 shops to over 1000 shops up until 1971.
Not content with their lot, the company then diversified into several other markets, including the hotel market, with the launch of their Ladbrokes chain of hotels. In 1999 the group bought over the ‘Stakis’ chain of hotels, owned by the late Cypriot owner, Sir Reo Stakis who sadly passed away in 2001. Other ventures that the Ladbroke group were involved in were the acquisition of DIY chain ‘Texas Homecare’ who they later sold to the Sainsburys group, who then merged the brand with their own Homebase brand. Ladbrokes are also responsible for the football pools company ‘Vernons’, who they still own today.
Soon after the acquision of Stakis hotels, the Ladbroke Group renamed and rebranded their entire hotel stock as Hilton Hotels International, making them one of the largest hotel operators in the world. Subsequently the company
renamed themselves as the Hilton Group Plc, in order to reflect the increased size of the hotel business within the group, and entered a joint marketing arrangement with the US based Hilton Hotels corporation, which operates Hilton Hotels in the US.
In 2005 Hilton Group Plc announced its intention to sell off their UK hotels to the Hilton Hotels Corporation in the US and in February 2006, the sale was approved by shareholders and subsequently finalised for £3.3 billion ($5.7 billion), with the Hilton Group readopting their original Ladbrokes name and retaining their gambling business.
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