British bookmaker Pagebet has signed a deal with private equity firm Advantage Capital to fund expansion in its shops estate arm as well as the telephone and internet betting division. The move gives Advantage a 45 per cent stake in the betting firm, which plans to use the capital to double its estate to 100 shops by 2011.
David Archer, a co-director of Pagebet, said "Last year’s sale released the capital we needed to get us to where we are now. We have grown from the 15 shops we retained to 26 in the North East and Midlands in the last 12 months and invested heavily in our head office, tele-betting and internet systems.
"Today’s investment by Advantage Capital is critical in that it gives us a real war chest on which to draw, to see out our business plan and to reach our target of becoming a top six bookmaker within two years," he added.
Fellow director Austin Carney reiterated the point, saying “The investment from Advantage Capital will allow us to go forward with the acquisitions we have planned and means we can look forward to more growth and further improvement in the quality of our estate over the next few years.”
Martin Bodenham, a director of Advantage Capital, said: “We are delighted to back two proven money-makers in the continued expansion of their business.”