Betting shops bought by rival

Betting shops bought by rival

16 November 2016

BETTING shops in Newcastle, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan and Dundrum owned by Sawey Bookmakers have a new owner.

Toals — which already has betting shops in Downpatrick — has taken over what remained of the Sawey bookmakers group in Co Down as part of a major expansion of its operation. The acquisition also included three licences for outlets that were no longer operating.

The move represents another significant investment for the firm which already operates 40 outlets across the Province employing around 250 people. 

Last year, it opened the biggest bookmakers shop in Britain or Ireland at Belfast’s High Street and

the firm recently launched an online service to go alongside its already popular telephone betting service.

Company owner, Gary Toal, said Toals is really well established and has a very recognised brand, explaining the company previously bought a Sawey shop in Bangor, but has now effectively secured the rest of the group.

“Sawey is a name that has been around since the 1930s and is one of the old bookmakers. All the shops will be rebranded and newly fitted out,” he said. “Some of them are listed so we’ll have to work with planners to see what best suits the areas.”

Mr Toal said the company, which can trace its roots back to 1927, would continue to grow over the coming years.

“Growth is definitely through acquisition because of the difficulty in obtaining a new licence here. But opportunities for acquisition are very few now,” he added.

Last year, Toals bought the former Passport Office on Belfast’s High Street where it now houses its head office, converting the ground floor into a 7,600 square foot state-of-the-art shop complete with banks of high definition, multi-view television systems and touch screen customer information terminals, combined with soft seating and tea/coffee areas.