Sky Bet targets Italy in multi-million pound expansion drive
Leeds-based operator to open offices in Sheffield and Rome, with additional plans to switch gaming roles to Guernsey
Sky Betting and Gaming will embark on a multi-million pound expansion drive with the opening of new offices in Sheffield and Rome as well as proposals to relocate 20 people from its gaming team to Guernsey, eGaming Review can reveal.
The Sheffield office will open in the coming weeks with the firm hiring 40 new employees to focus on technology and product with roles including product management, technical architects, business analyst, engineers, scrum masters and testers.
The new South Yorkshire location will be backed with a £10m investment over the next five years with much of its product development work allied to its international expansion plans, initially focusing on the Italian market.
Speaking to eGaming Review, Sky Betting and Gaming’s chief executive Richard Flint said the office opening was designed to expand its reach into a new pool of talent in Yorkshire, while all senior staff will remain in the Leeds office.
“Our headquarters will stay in Leeds as we’ve been here for five years and are very happy as we continue to grow, with nearly 90 vacancies we’re currently trying to fill,” Flint said.
“It’s talent which couldn’t work in Leeds because the commute is too long, but it’s an extra pool of recruitment which is close enough to Leeds that we can send people back and forth and we can meet face-to-face relatively easily,” he added.
The Leeds-headquartered firm is also planning to open a small Italian office based in Rome next year ahead of a full-launch, likely to occur in H2 2016.
Italy had previously been cited as Sky Betting and Gaming’s next target market after obtaining an operating licence in 2012, while broadcasting company Sky UK Limited’s acquisition of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland last year for $4.9bn was predicted to expedite a launch.
In addition to new offices in Sheffield and Rome, eGR can also reveal the operator has begun a company consultation to move 20 people from its gaming team in Leeds to its small office in Guernsey.
The operator announced the consultation to staff yesterday afternoon and if the move goes through it will see marketing, commercial and technology functions within gaming move to the office, as well as bolstering Guernsey’s existing team.
“We haven’t determined how long the consultation will last or when the move will take place but I’d expect it will be in the next few months and certainly before the end of the calendar year,” Flint said.
Sky Betting and Gaming is also currently hiring for 87 roles in its Leeds-based office which combined with its planned expansion plans, will take its company-wide headcount to over 700 employees.
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