Misplaced Pages

Fred Done

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
British billionaire businessman
Fred Done
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Founder & Chairman, Betfred
Years active1967–current
OrganizationBetfred
RelativesPeter Done

Fred Done (born March 1943) is a British billionaire businessman and the owner of the bookmaking chain Betfred, which has more than 1,600 betting shops in the UK.

Early life

Done grew up with three siblings in Ordsall, Greater Manchester. Done and his brother Peter Done left school aged 15 without qualifications after working in their father’s illegal bookmaking business.

Career

In 1967 aged 24, Done opened his first bookmaker with his brother, which they funded by a win on England's victory in 1966 FIFA World Cup the year before.

By the mid-1980s, they had more than 70 bookmaking shops. In 1983, Done founded Peninsula Business Services, which has more than 10 companies operating in employment law, workplace health, and human resources.

In 1998, Done paid out early Manchester United to win the Premier League title, making him the first bookmaker to pay out early at the end of the season.

In 2004, Done's chain of bookmakers was renamed Betfred.

In 2015, Done announced he was in talks to sell a 25% stake in The Tote after buying it from the UK government for £265 million in 2011.

In 2018, Done made an investment in Adzooma, an online advertising platform based in Nottingham, UK.

In 2020, Done invested in GGRecon, an esports publisher based in Manchester, UK.

In 2021, Done stepped down as the CEO of Betfred and took up the role as Chairman.

In 2023, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated Done's net worth to be £1.87 billion.

References

  1. "Billionaire Brothers Bet on William Hill Before Stock Surge". Bloomberg Online. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  2. "Welcome to the Betfred Group". BetFred About Us. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Who are Fred and Peter Done, the brothers behind Betfred bookmakers?". the Guardian. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  4. Duke, Simon. "Betfred founders Fred and Peter Done eye sale of 25% stake in the Tote". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  5. "CEO Secrets: From Ordsall poverty to being a billionaire". BBC News. 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  6. "Who are Peninsula?". Peninsula UK. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  7. ^ "Betfred Corporate – History". www.betfredcorporate.com. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  8. Duke, Simon (25 February 2018). "Betfred founder Fred eyes sale of 25% stake in the Tote". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  9. "Adzooma partners with Google to help SMEs grow online". BusinessCloud.co.uk. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  10. "About GGRecon". GGRecon. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  11. "These Mancs play games for a living: GGRecon is Manchester's best Esports publisher". The Manc. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  12. "Fred Done Appoints Joanne Whittaker as Betfred CEO". GamblingNews. 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  13. Tyler, Richard (2023-07-24). "Peter Done: I lost Betfred to my brother on a coin toss, but I'm still a winner". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
Categories: