Bet365 backs employee health with £7.7m leisure facility

Bet365 will begin work on a multi-million pound training and leisure facility beside its Stoke-on-Trent headquarters as part of the operator’s plan to promote health in the workplace.

As first reported by local newspaper The Sentinel, the betting giant recently received planning permission for the £7.7m, two-acre development and is expected to begin work in the coming weeks.

The 33,500 square foot leisure facility will include two five-a-side football pitches, two tennis courts and a multi-use games area, while training rooms for new staffers and additional office space will also be part of the new building.

“We realise the importance of health and wellness in the workplace and encourage colleagues to enjoy the new facilities once completed,” Richard Smith, bet365 group property director, told The Sentinel.

The facilities, which will be open from 8am to 11pm every day, will be free to use for all of bet365’s 2,500-plus staff.

Meanwhile, news of the development, which is scheduled to be completed by April 2018, comes as bet365 plans to increase its headcount by around 300 over the next five years.

Last year bet365 opened a new tech-focused office in Manchester where it recently announced it would be growing its headcount to 150 from its current level of 85.