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Former Chief Of Gala Coral To Return For £540 Million Deal

October 13th, 2009

Ever since it was reported that the gaming conglomerate was to go in for a major debt restructuring deal that would result in a massive £540 million debt being written off their balance sheets, speculation has been rife that the former Gala Coral chief John Kelly could be set to return to the helm of affairs again.

John Kelly was at the forefront of a management led buy-in of 130-odd bingo clubs from Bass in 1997 and stayed on as Chief Executive for 11 years thereafter. During his tenure he transformed the beleaguered bingo clubs into a money spinning and highly profitable bingo company. He was also instrumental in acquiring the 31 casinos operating under the Ladbrokes wing and completed his biggest deal when he acquired Coral in 2005 for a whopping £2.2 billion. John Kelly parted ways with Gala Coral in October last year as part of a management succession model and was replaced by Neil Goulden subsequently.

The group has had, reportedly, a tough time raising funds in the equity market with Neil Goulden in charge and with the group as such going through financial difficulties post the introduction of the smoking ban and amendments to the Gambling Act. Roger Cooper who is a close business associate of John Kelly commented on the reported return of Kelly to Gala Coral, “I think the report is speculation at the moment but if it turns out to be true, I think this will be a real positive step for the ailing bingo industry. My company is still standing quite well in these difficult times but unfortunately my estate is not big enough to increase the market for bingo in the UK and the future of my business is actually dependent on firms like Gala Bingo to stimulate growth and popularity in the bingo market” Roger Cooper now owns and operates several online bingo portals.

Kelly enjoys an iconic status in the bingo industry. He enjoys the title of being among the first promoters of one of the bingo industry’s biggest brands, “Gala Bingo” and transforming the same into a household name. With negotiations with the two investment banks, Intermediate Capital and Park Square, for the sale of a majority stake in the company in return for debt settlement scheduled to be concluded next month, the widely expected return of John Kelly could definitely boost investor morale and player confidence.

Former Chief Of Gala Coral To Return For £540 Million Deal

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