Gala Bingo Halls Could Sell for £250m

Gala Coral could potentially net £250million if they decide to go ahead with the current plan of selling their chain of UK bingo halls later this year.

Gambling news reports that a number of investment firms were looking at acquiring the Gala Bingo outlets, one of them, OpCapita, used to own the UK retail chains Comet and MFI. OpCapita are a London based private investment firm and is headed up by US executive Henry Jackson.

Tax Changes Prompt Interest

Investor interest in UK bingo halls is growing following the 2014 budget announcement that reflected new UK gambling laws which will come into effect this December.

The new laws will halve the gaming duty on bingo from 20% to 10%.

Gala Coral’s bingo division employs nearly 5,000 people in the UK and as the company decides on whether to launch an initial public offering later this year, it might welcome the idea of selling its bingo assets ahead of a float. It’s estimated that if all 137 properties are sold the company could stand to earn £250million. Global financial advisory and asset management firm Lazard is understood to have been hired to manage the sale.