Operator News

Northern Ireland – BoyleSports buys six betting shops from HughesBet

By Phil - 8 September 2020

Irish bookmaker BoyleSports has bought ‘almost everything’ from Northern Irish bookmaker Gregory Hughes owner of the HughesBet betting chain

It will take over ownership of six of the seven HughesBet retail outlets, all of which will be rebranded as BoyleSports outlets.

BoyleSports Chief Executive Conor Gray stated: “Since BoyleSports founder and chairman John Boyle opened his first shop at Markethill, Armagh in 1982, it has been our ambition to develop a meaningful retail presence in Northern Ireland. The purchase of the HughesBet chain of shops demonstrates our long-term commitment to the Northern Ireland market.”

The deal comes on the back of a deal earlier in 2020 to take over the entire Northern Irish retail estate of William Hill, having acquired a chain of 33 shops, and taking the total number of retail outlets of BoyleSports in Northern Ireland to 45.

In 2019, BoyleSport bought a series of shops from Midlands independent bookmaker Wilf Gilbert, launching the first phase of its UK expansion, creating the ‘Northern presence’ of the Dundalk operator.