Bet365 UK’s fastest growing

BET365, the online gambling firm has been named as one of the UK’s fastest-growing mid-sized private companies.The Festival Park-based business is at number 30 on Investec Bank’s Hot 100.

Ed Cottrell from Investec said: “The 2012 Investec Hot 100 is a fascinating piece of research into high-growth businesses. Some sectors stand out as strong and downturn-resistant: information technology, outsourced services, which are taking up functions formerly held within government and large corporates, and niche and budget retailers, which cater to price sensitive consumers.”

According to Investec, Bet365 has grown by an average of 46 per cent per year, with turnover reaching £501.4 million in the year to the end of March 2011.

The Sentinel reported in January that Bet365 had created more than 300 jobs in 12 months. Customers wagered £8.54 billion in bets in the year March 27 2011, up from £5.4 billion the year before. The firm, which is run by Stoke City chairman Peter Coates and his family, now employs around 1,700 people in Stoke-on-Trent.