Ladbrokes, the bookmaker, is to launch a service that will allow anyone staking at least £1 on a horse race through its iPhone app to watch that race live on their phone.
The streaming service has been developed with Mfuse, a mobile gaming company, and will be available from this week to coincide with the start of the Cheltenham festival, the biggest week in the horseracing calendar.
Analysts expect that bookies will generate about £250m in turnover at this year’s festival.
JJB backers raise £60m
JJB Sports has raised another £60m from investors who are backing the new management team to breathe life into the ailing sportswear retailer.
The company will say this week that five leading shareholders have signed up to the plan, less than three months after a £31.5m fundraising.
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The new placing is being underwritten by Numis, the broker, and is expected to see new shareholders buy into JJB for the first time.
Powerfuel deal nears
The assets of Powerfuel, owner of a Yorkshire coal mine and power plant, are close to being sold.
2Co Energy, a firm backed by buyout giant TPG Capital, has been named preferred bidder for the “clean” coal power plant. ING, the bank, is poised to buy the firm’s Hatfield colliery, near Doncaster. It is understood that the bank agreed to buy out VTB Capital, the company’s other creditor.
Commodity swoop by 3i
An environmental consultancy backed by the buyout firm 3i has paid £7m for a South African rival as it seeks to cash in on the commodities boom.
Metago, which works for miners in Africa and Australia, is the fourth acquisition in the natural resources sector made by SLR in the past year. The prices of raw materials such as copper and iron ore have soared as the economy has recovered. 3i invested in SLR in 2008.
Buyout chiefs win awards
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Managers behind Britain’s 100 private equity backed companies with the fastest-growing profits, featured in the fifth annual Sunday Times Buyout Track 100, celebrated at an awards dinner last week. John McAdam, senior adviser to TPG and chairman of Rentokil Initial and United Utilities, spoke about how differently privately owned and public companies reacted to the recession. Charles Gurassa and Simon Calver, respectively chairman and chief executive of Lovefilm, were interviewed about their recent acquisition by Amazon and presented with Deloitte’s fastest-growing company award. The Sunday Times’s best brand award went to Harrods, and Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets’ best deal award was picked up by Achilles Group. Skillcapital’s best management team award went to Poundland and UBS Wealth Management’s value creation award was won by Cath Kidston.
Aga cooks up big boost to share price
11.7: The percentage increase in the share price of Aga Rangemaster Group on Friday after the cooker maker smashed forecasts for its annual financial results.
19.9: The amount, in millions of pounds, of pre-tax profit at Aga, up from £500,000 a year ago. The increase was largely caused by changes to staff pensions.