Football Pools sale draws nearer

tech has announced it has granted investment firm Burlywood Capital exclusivity regarding the sale of its Football Pools product, in a potential deal worth £97.25m.

If the deal were to be agreed and completed, then Burlywood would apply for an AIM listing for a new company that would be incorporated as a result of the Football Pools acquisition.

That new company would be chaired by Ian Hogg, who was COO of Sportech between 2010 and 2014 and is now Chairman of gambling crowdsourcing and crowdfunding platform GamCrowd.

Brian Mattingley, Chairman and former CEO of 888 Holdings, would be a non-executive director in the new company.

Sportingbet Founder Mark Blandford is a partner in Burlywood but was not named among the directors of the potential new company, while his fellow partner is Andrew Burnett, whose background is in investment banking.

Carl Lynn, Sportech CFO and Football Pools Finance Director, would keep a link with Sportech in place, as he would be a director in the new group.

The deal is subject to the equity being raised, final agreement and the approval of Sportech shareholders.

Sportech bought Littlewoods Leisure, the previous operator of the Football Pools product, in 2000.

It was mentioned by Sportech in its financial report for the six months ended 30 June that the Football Pools had “completed key modernisation milestones” and was “demonstrating earnings stability.”

Revenue from the product’s continuing channels for the period was £14m, down year-on-year from £14.4m and making up 29% of group revenue.

Burlywood Capital has been asked for comment.