Betfred reported a turnover of £995.6 million for the 2025/26 financial year, a significant drop from £1.5 billion in the previous period, according to a recent filing with Companies House. However, direct comparisons between the two periods are complicated due to a change in the company’s financial year. The current reported period covers the 52 weeks ending March 29, 2026, while the previous year included 78 weeks up to March 30, 2025, following Betfred's shift in year-end from September to March last year.
In terms of revenue sources for the 12-month period, retail operations contributed 55% of total turnover, with online segments providing the remaining 45%. This marks a change from the previous year, where retail accounted for 61% of the overall turnover, indicating a narrowing of the split between these two segments.
Despite the drop in total turnover, Betfred noted a like-for-like increase of £23.3 million, aided by an uptick in marketing expenses aimed at increasing market share and attracting new customers.
Gross profit for the reported 52-week timeframe reached £719.9 million, while operating profit amounted to £74.1 million. This figure included a one-time expense of £4.6 million associated with „aborted acquisition costs”. The company reported EBITDA of £140.6 million.
Management opted not to provide a geographical breakdown of earnings, citing concerns over prejudicing group interests.
The financial year featured exceptional charges totaling £7.1 million related to the aborted acquisition, and an additional £801,000 associated with the closure of a subsidiary tied to its operations in the U.S., which ceased during the 2023-24 financial year.
Betfred also confirmed the divestiture of its Spanish online business in 2024, which resulted in a profit of £1.6 million.
Employee costs rose by £19.2 million on a like-for-like basis, largely due to an increase in the national minimum wage, despite a slight decrease in workforce numbers. The total number of employees fell to 7,795 from 7,872 the previous year.
The recently reported figures do not reflect the increased Remote Gaming Duty, which took effect in April this year. Overall tax contributions from the company decreased during the 2025/26 period to £24.4 million, down from £59.8 million in the prior year. The report also noted unrecognized deferred tax assets that could reach up to £7 million.
Betfred founder Fred Done has actively raised concerns regarding the potential implications of forthcoming UK gambling tax increases, specifically citing the upcoming remote betting tax in April 2027 alongside a possible rise in Machine Gaming Duty, which might be detailed in the government's Autumn Budget.
Recently, Done indicated to the Financial Times that doubling the Machine Gaming Duty could force Betfred to shut down 495 shops within a year, leading to 2,575 job losses and an estimated £67 million in lost tax revenue for the government.
In August, he announced that the company was contemplating closing up to 132 betting shops in the UK as part of measures to counteract the expected tax increases.
