Flutter UK and Ireland has closed 21 Paddy Power shops in the Republic of Ireland, affecting 78 members of staff.
The list of affected shops includes Dominick Street Galway, Kilkenny, Rathdrum and Templemore. In a statement, Flutter said the decision to close consisted of two main facets – lease expiries and early terminations. It added the decision came after a review into its “high street estate”.
Paddy Power is among Flutter’s biggest brands in the UK and Ireland, alongside Betfair and Sky Bet.
Flutter stated that the closures leave 230 active Paddy Power shops across the Republic of Ireland.
Flutter added that the “majority” of the 78 members of staff would be offered redeployment across Paddy Power’s remaining shops. However, it admitted that the closures would lead to a “small number” of job losses.
“As with all businesses in the retail sector, we regularly review our estate to ensure we are operating efficiently and meeting the evolving needs of our customers,” said David Newton, chief commercial officer of Paddy Power. “Indeed, a well-invested retail estate remains a key component of our omnichannel strategy.
“While the majority of our estate continues to perform well and is growing market share, we have decided to close a number of underperforming shops.”
Newton said that the closures do not reflect on Paddy Power staff. He added that they are being supported at this time.
“This is absolutely no reflection on our hard-working shop colleagues and I would like to thank them for their service and professionalism during this difficult time,” Newton continued. “We are in contact with all affected colleagues and our focus is very much on providing support to those who may be impacted by the changes.”
Projected closures
In July last year, Flutter confirmed that it would make redundancies in the UK and Ireland. This was the result of an internal review.
At the time, a Flutter spokesperson stated that it expected most of those left without jobs to be redeployed elsewhere within the company. This was projected to result in a “small number” of job losses.
Flutter reported a 13.7% rise in UK and Ireland revenue in H1 to £1.24bn. A total of £152m was generated by retail operations.
