Profit surges at Richard Desmond’s empire ahead of UK lottery court battle
Profit at Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell has surged ahead of a battle starting in the High Court over the UK’s National Lottery.
The media tycoon is taking the Gambling Commission to court in October after missing out on winning the licence to run the National Lottery in 2022.
Richard Desmond’s empire is seeking for the court to declare the commission’s process unlawful as well as seeking damages.
The commission awarded international lottery operator Allwyn, whose ultimate beneficial owner is Czech billionaire Karel Komárek, the contract – with the company taking over the state-franchised lottery in February 2024.
Northern & Shell has previously said it incurred costs of almost £20m in its bid to win the contract and has claimed the process was unfair.
Profit grows at Richard Desmond’s group
Now new accounts filed with Companies House show that Richard Desmond’s group achieved a pre-tax profit of £42.7m for 2024, up from the £15.8m it posted for 2023.
Its profit in 2023 came after Northern & Shell lost more than £100m in 2022.
The results also show its turnover increased in the year from £12.6m to £14m.
The London-headquartered group includes The Health Lottery, property development Westferry Printworks in London and investment arm, N&S Ventures.
The Health Lottery, made an operating loss of £2.4m in the year after having also lost £3.4m in the prior 12 months.
Northern & Shell said “further efficiency measures were implemented after the reporting date which, together with other planned initiatives and new lottery draws, the directors anticipate will substantially reduce operating losses in 2025 as the business progresses towards breaking even”.
A statement signed off by the board said: “The directors feel the the group is well placed to build on its established activities and broader interests to take advantage of improved market conditions and new opportunities as they arise.”
The results are the sixth full year since the group sold its publishing and printing assets, including the Daily Star and the Daily Express, to Reach plc in February 2018.