Gala Coral History

1997

In 1997 a management buy-in, led by John Kelly, purchased 130 Gala Bingo Clubs from Bass. The deal was backed by PPM Ventures.

2000

In December 2000, the Gala Group, backed by CSFB Private Equity, acquired 26 casinos from the Hilton Group. Gala Bingo also became the leading bingo operator that year on the back of a number of acquisitions.

2003

Private equity firms, Candover and Cinven, acquired the Group in February 2003 for £1.24 billion.

2005

In August 2005 a third investor, Permira, bought a stake in the Company valuing Gala at nearly £1.9 billion. In October 2005, Gala Group acquired Coral Eurobet in a deal that created Europe’s pre-eminent integrated betting and gaming company with an enterprise value of approximately £4 billion.

2006

In January 2006, the Group acquired the County Clubs Bingo chain in Scotland. At the 2006 UK Gambling Awards, Coral was named “Bookmaker of the Year”. Gala Coral was named gambling operator of the year and leisure group of the year. We also won a CSR award within the leisure industry.

2007

In 2007, the Group commenced the rollout of betting shops in Italy following its success in December 2006 in winning 403 sports and horserace betting licences, through a government-led auction. The Group also set up a joint venture in China.