On receiving my company, I was a little nervous to receive GVC Holdings PLC. This group is vastly impressive and on a large scale having a presence in over 20 counties and now being one of the biggest sports betting and gaming groups in the world after its 2018 acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral Group PLC.
I sadly know every little about sports betting but have certainly seen the humorous television ads for Ladbrokes sports betting here and there, so I was interested to find out more.
Firstly I wanted to ensure I did a little research to confirm the definition of a PLC, with my business having a country of incorporation in the Isle of Man I did not want to be in any doubt of the type of business I was dealing with. PLC is used in Great Britain and it stands for Public Limited Company meaning that it is a publicly traded corporation. Interesting, another example of a PLC would be Burberry and all companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are PLCs.
Here’s a quick link to the definition that I have found.
Next, I went on to my companies website and was really excited to see how much information they provide about themselves. From their history to their strategic goals, they appear very open with who they are as a company. With such a huge workforce, I guess they have to be. GVC holdings PLC employ over 24,000 people and has a presence in both the online and retail space. I did not know that sports betting can be divided into sports brand and game brands but GVC has a bunch of brands that do just that! The company owns proprietary technology throughout its products and can either interact direct with consumers or other businesses to deliver their products.
And if you thought this company already didn’t do enough, they even have a joint venture with MGM Resorts in America - I have never been to America but the MGM is definitely a place I have heard of so this company seems to be going from strength to strength growing its reach.
Their website details their corporate strategy as being:
“to build further scale and increase our international diversification through leveraging our proven proprietary technology, established brands and high quality personnel.”
It appears they are achieving this strategy!
I found out that there are 9 people on the Board of Directors and they have recently moved the management and tax residence of the company to the UK. Upon reading their new updates (link below), titled H1 Post Close Trading Update, I gained an insight into how the covid-19 lockdown affected this company. Their updated advised that their online net gaming revenue actually grew 22 percent, allowing the company to operate at cash neutral whilst in lockdown. This update also detailed how they have further enhanced their responsible gaming safeguards. I found it interesting to read from this update that Ladbrokes and the Coral brands had recently moved onto the GVC technology platform – so this would be an example of the proprietary technology they mention on their about us page springing into action.
GVC Holdings details initiatives on sports betting integrity and even has a seven pillar ‘safer gambling strategy in action’ to help understand and reduce problem gambling. I also viewed information on their environment impact awareness and stategy – this is a company that is aware of their footprint in the world and takes steps to either help reduce their mark or at least take the steps to identify where their handprints go. They strive to foster good relations with customers, other businesses, communities, regulatory bodies and sports organisations through acting openly, honestly and with integrity.
So this is the initial information I have found on my company, I do find research fun so I am looking forward to getting into their financial statements and gaining a further understanding of their business reality.
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