In the latest effort to increase its greyhound racing portfolio, Arena Racing Company acquired Newcastle’s Central Park stadium from Cearnsport Limited. The track joins existing ones in Nottingham, Sunderland and Birmingham.
The acquisition comes as Arena redevelops the greyhound season as part of a partnership with Entain Plc to widen the appeal of racing.
“We are delighted to have reached agreement with Cearnsport Limited, and to welcome Central Park into the ARC group of venues,” Mark Kingston, ARC director of media and technology told SBCNews. “Central Park will really enhance the portfolio of greyhound racing that we host and reiterates our long-term commitment to the sport.”
For Roger Cearns, it was time to retire after 60 years.
“I believe that being within the ARC group will give Central Park, its staff and trainers a secure and prosperous future and my best wishes go to them.”
In other U.K. news, Entain has initiated a program that not only offers employees the opportunity to buy shares in the company but the public as well. The ShareSave plan will be available to 22,500 participants.
Entain, which runs more than 2,885 Ladbrokes and Coral sportsbooks in the U.K. and Ireland, employs some 14,000. After that period, investors can buy additional shares for 20 percent less that the market value. The offer will reach the workforce in the Philippines, India and Bulgaria.
To join, employees can make contributions of £5 or more over three years, with a £100 (US$138.46) monthly cap to allow more participants, according to SBCNews.
“We’ve been keen for some time to roll out a universal employee share ownership plan which we will continue to refine and build on as the business grows,” Entain Chief Financial Officer Rob Wood told Reuters.
The plan expects to be put into place later in the year.
“Entain has been one of the highest performing companies in the FTSE-100 over the past year, which is the result of hard work and efforts from teams across our international business,” said Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of Entain. “Building a strong customer-centric culture where everyone contributes and shares in our continuing success is really important, so this plan is designed to be attractive and accessible to all.”
