Corporate sale
With the business facing a number of difficulties, including the loss of three out of four of its casino licences, a sale was attempted to Grand Metropolitan in 1980,[7] but this attempt failed and the following January a sale was achieved to Bass plc, as part of the Bass Leisure operation.
In September 1998, Bass sold Coral to the Ladbroke Group for £363 million.[8] The UK Government, however, ordered Ladbroke to sell Coral after the Monopolies and Mergers Commission found that the acquisition was anti-competitive.[8] The Coral business, except for 59 shops in Ireland and Jersey, was sold in a management buyout financed by Morgan Grenfell Private Equity for £390 million in February 1999.[9][10]
In November 1999, Coral acquired Eurobet, an online betting operation based in Gibraltar, for £7.1 million.[11][12] The company changed its name to Coral Eurobet in May 2000.[13] Coral Eurobet was then sold in a further management buy out in September 2002, which was backed by Charterhouse Development Capital.[14]
In October 2005, Coral Eurobet was acquired for £2.18 billion by casino and bingo firm Gala, which changed its name to Gala Coral Group, creating the United Kingdom's third largest bookmaker and largest bingo operator.[15] Coral and Eurobet continued to operate as divisions of Gala Coral.[16]
In July 2009, Coral announced the relocation of their broadcasting department to Milton Keynes to a purpose built studio to manage the inception of its new television channel, Coral TV.[17]
In November 2016, Gala Coral was acquired by Ladbrokes, which changed its name to Ladbrokes Coral.[18] Coral and Ladbrokes shops continued to operate under their respective names.[19] GVC Holdings acquired Ladbrokes Coral in March 2018.[20]
