Gala Coral has closed down six of its bingo venues in the UK this year.
Gala Coral's private equity owners are planning to give up a major stake in the bingo and sports betting operator in order to relieve it of debts totalling £540 million.According to reports, talks over a restructuring deal for Gala Coral have reached an advanced stage and private equity firms Candover, Cinven and Permira look set to surrender up to half their share in the company.
A group of lenders led by the investment firms Intermediate Capital and Park Square are poised to acquire the stake, which should prevent shareholders being forced to inject more money into Gala Coral.
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The company has a debt pile of £2.6 billion and has struggled to absorb the impact of the economic downturn and several regulatory changes in the British gambling industry.
Six of Gala's bingo venues have closed down so far this year, while the firm also revealed plans to shed about 200 backroom staff from its marketing and finance departments in June.
Formed from the merger of Gala Group and Coral Eurobet in 2005, the company runs almost 2,000 betting shops, 148 bingo clubs and 27 casinos.
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