Lender takes full control of The Football Pools in Liverpool after the business sees pre-tax losses total more than £30m over a two-year period. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool-based The Football Pools has seen its lender take full control of the business after reporting heavy losses two years in a row.

In its annual accounts just published on Companies House, The Football Pools is reporting pre-tax losses just shy of £15m for the 12 months to December 31, 2023. This follows pre-tax losses of more than £18m in 2022.

Revenues for 2023 came in at £21m, lower than the £24.7m reported for 2022. Directors concluded the business needed further capital injection and this prompted discussions between its shareholders OpCapita Funds and lender HOF.

As a result of these discussions it was decided that HOF, an investment fund run by Hoplon Investment Partners, would take a majority stake in the business and put in a further £4m of capital.

In the accounts the directors said: “The company will continue to develop the business and will continue to build on the good progress made under the previous owners since 2017.

“The focus will be on the continued stabilisation and growth of the Classic Pools subscriber base building on the progress made since June 2017.”

Based in Walton in north Liverpool, The Football Pools was founded in the city in 1923 by tycoon Sir John Moores. Then called Littlewoods Pools it was regarded as the best way of getting rich quickly by generations of Brits.

Today it is a business that has taken the traditional Pools game and updated it for the digital age. The company, which employs more than 150 people, is now in its 101st football season.

As well as the classic Football Pools games, where players have to forecast the weekend football results, the company also offers other online subscription games including betting on the Irish Lottery.

In the latest report the directors add: “The board has taken steps to mitigate the threat posed to the business by the ongoing decline in Football Pools customers.

“These include using third party agencies to recruit new players, expanding revenue channels to allow customers greater choice of how they play and converting existing players from card and cheque to direct debit.”

They also mentioned the continuing pressure on household budgets across the UK and the impact this has on discretionary spending. While they don’t expect too much impact to the pools there is more concern about the effects on its I-Gaming channel.

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“To mitigate the risk the company will continue to invest in the online business and its underlying platform to ensure that its overall proposition is attractive to both existing and new customers.”

According to the account, directors’ remuneration, including salaries and pension contributions, totalled £470,000 in 2023. The highest paid director received £266,000. No dividends were paid during the year.