paddy power -sarah fay

Paddy Power Report Analysis

Sarah FayB00061143

Department of Business School of Business & Humanities,Institute of Technology,

Blanchardstown,Dublin 15

[Word Limit for Assignment: 10500 Actual Word Count: 10317]

The Course Title: General Business The Module Title: Strategic Management of Information Systems

Submission Date: 27/04/2016

ContentsExecutive Summary...............................................................................................................................1

History of the Company.........................................................................................................................2

The strategic Position of the Company..................................................................................................6

The environment...............................................................................................................................6

The macro Environment................................................................................................................6

Industries and Sectors...................................................................................................................8

Competitors and Markets............................................................................................................11

Opportunities and threats...........................................................................................................11

Strategic Capability of Paddy Power................................................................................................12

The Critical Success Factors.........................................................................................................12

Resources and Competences...........................................................................................................14

Resources....................................................................................................................................14

Competences...............................................................................................................................15

Distinctive Capabilities.................................................................................................................16

Bench-Marking with Competitors................................................................................................16

Financial Reports.........................................................................................................................17

Strengths and Weaknesses of Paddy Power....................................................................................17

Strengths.....................................................................................................................................17

Weaknesses.................................................................................................................................17

Strategic Purpose.............................................................................................................................17

Values, Mission, Vison and strategic Objectives..........................................................................17

Corporate Governance and Governance Structure.....................................................................19

Corporate Governance................................................................................................................19

Business Ethics and Cultural Context...........................................................................................21

Strategic Choices.................................................................................................................................22

Corporate strategy and Diversification............................................................................................22

Product/ Market Diversity...........................................................................................................22

Direction and Methods of Development.....................................................................................23

Methods of Strategy Development - Mergers, acquisitions and alliances...................................25

Success Criteria............................................................................................................................28

International Strategy......................................................................................................................30

Business Level Strategy....................................................................................................................31

Forces Influencing Business Strategy...........................................................................................31

Bases of competitive Advantage..................................................................................................32

Sustaining Competitive Advantage..............................................................................................32

Strategy in Action................................................................................................................................34

Structure..........................................................................................................................................34

Enabling Success..........................................................................................................................35

Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................37

References...........................................................................................................................................38

Declaration of Plagiarism.....................................................................................................................41

Executive SummaryPaddy Power is a globally successful, Gambling organisation whom have excelled in their business

strategies since the company was first established in 1988. Recently, Paddy Power was involved in a

merger between their company and Betfair. Betfair is one of Paddy Power’s main online competitors

so this merger was, not only a great success for Paddy Power, but it also limited Paddy Powers

Competitors. The Chief Executive of the Paddy Power Betfair Company commented on the merger in

the recently publicised annual report. He stated

“The combination of the two operators with significant growth momentum, aligned strategies and a

strong cultural fit is hugely exciting and our belief in the strategic rationale for the deal has only been

strengthened following our early days as an enlarged group”

(Breon Corcoran, 2016)

Throughout this report I have analysed the company of Paddy Power Betfair Plc. I have completed

various different analyses on different parts of the company and laid out my results in this report.

Included in this report is an analysis of the following:

The strategic position of the company- The strategic position of the company is the overall objectives

which the company aims to achieve and how they plan to achieve these objectives. Paddy Powers

executive directors have carefully combined thoughts and knowledge to establish a new strategic

plan for the new Paddy Power Betfair Plc.

The strategic Choices of the company- A successful strategic choice process allows an organisation to

make effective and efficient decisions for the company. It is important for the employees involved in

the strategic choices of a company to define the source of certain issues and make decisions to

amend these issues.

Strategy in Action- In this part of the report, I have listed and explained the different sections of

operation at Paddy Power. In each of these sections there are sub groups to ensure top quality

service for customers from Paddy Power.

Paddy Power is a company who have high regard for their customers and listen carefully to their

customer feedback in order to create a better service. As part of this strategy, they engage fully with

their customers and inform their customers of new innovations in order to get their thoughts on it.


History of the CompanyThree Irish bookmakers, by the names of Stewart Kenny, John Corcoran and David Power, originally

founded the Paddy power company in the year of 1988. This establishment arose after the three

men decided to merge their 40 shops in order to create a sense of entertainment in the world of

betting. The name was decided, based on the strength

of the “Power” brand name, among the merged

shops. They decided to use “Paddy” and the colour

green as their signature colour in order to symbolise

the Irish culture of the chain. This was a major factor

at the time because the fragmented Irish betting

industry was facing a huge challenge of competition

from Britain, as a result of the Irish Tax code. Since

being exposed to the public, Paddy Power has had

continued Success from the very start and continues to gain more and more customers every day by

having an aggressive expansion approach.

In the year of 2000, Paddy Power successfully tackled the World Wide Web, providing its customers

with an online gambling website “Paddypower.com” The launch of their online website saw Paddy

Power hold the leading position for online gambling, Which they have kept hold of to this day, with

the help of the recent merge with Betfair.

In a continuous effort to make betting an entertainment for their customers, Paddy Power opened

its first shop in the UK in the year of 2002. As a result of the entertainment aspect of Paddy Power

becoming an increasingly important factor for customers, Paddy Power opened a total of 250 shops

in the UK by the year of 2014. This was a larger figure then the number of shops Paddy Power had

opened in Ireland.

In 2004, Paddy Power again expanded its services in order to keep its loyal customers satisfied. This

was the year they created e-gaming products, launching services such as Paddypowergames.com

and Paddypowercasino.com. In 2005, they provided their customers with Paddypowerpoker.com. In

an attempt to gain attention worldwide for this new service, Paddy Power organised the world’s

largest ever game of strip Poker. This proved to be a success as it led to the production of

paddypowerbingo.com in 2006. By the end of 2005, Paddy Power operated in 195 outlets (150

based in Ireland and 45 based in The UK). The total number of Employees at Paddy Power at this

stage of their life cycle was 1,374.

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In 2008 after acquiring the Northern Irish bookmaker “McGranaghan Racing” , Paddy Powers ship

count was brought up to a total of 191 outlets in Ireland.

The production of the e-gaming products then led to the expansion of Paddy Power in 2009.

2009 was the year that Paddy Power decided to establish markets outside of Ireland and the UK. The

International expansion of Paddy Power began with Australia. Paddy Power purchased a 51% stake

in of the online bookmakers in Australia “Sportsbet.com.au”. In 2010, Paddy Power then purchased

the remaining shares. This has had a positive and effective impact on both Paddy Power Company

and Sportsbet as a Sportsbet have been doing electrifying ever since. 2009 was also the year that

saw Paddy Power join overseas partnerships with countries such as France and Canada. The Business

to Business partnership with France involved a company called PMU. PMU is Europe’s largest betting

organisation so this was a huge achievement and advantage for Paddy Power.

A huge development for the Paddy Power company in 2010 was being the first online bookmaker to

have an app in the Apple app store. Due to technology updating quite regularly throughout the

years, Paddy Power have to ensure they keep up to date with what’s going on in the world of

technology in order to keep hold of its customers. The app was a new and exciting way for Paddy

Power to communicate and engage with its customers. Today, The App is responsible for a large

percentage of the bets placed with the company. In May 2013, Paddy Power celebrated its millionth

download.

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By February 2010, Paddy Power chain had a total of 356 shops with 209 based in Ireland, 8 in

Northern Ireland and 139 In the UK. Almost two thirds of Paddy Powers profits, however, were being

made outside Ireland.

In 2011, Paddy Power bought the firm “Cayentano”, which is a Bulgarian-based games and

development software firm. This business strategy saw a huge increase in employees who could help

enable Paddy Power to lead the market industry by creating new product developments and

technologies.

2012 was a major year for Paddy Power as many different business strategies and Promotions took

place this year. It started out when the majority of Paddy Powers head offices, which were originally

situated in Tallaght Dublin, were moved to a brand new power tower building in Clonskeagh. After

this, the company expanded further internationally into the online Italian market. A new App was

also developed for Paddy Power this year which called “first-ever-real-money” casino App. Paddy

Power created this App for all Apple touch screen devices. Lastly they launched Roller in 2012 and

provided customers with yet another social betting game to keep them entertained called “Bet

Dash”.

A repeated successful and busy year was had for Paddy Power in 2013 when they broke the world

record for having the largest painted sign in history. The following is a picture of the sign:

This was the sign that welcomed British and Irish lion’s players to Melbourne airport. Following on

from this, Paddy Power opened a further 75 new shops all across Ireland, Northern Ireland and

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Britain. Another international partnership was also formed in 2013 between Paddy Power and

Slovakian sportsbook Nike. Paddy Power produced a Paddy Power messenger app in the same year

which provided another mode of betting for customers. Another major development for Paddy

Power in 2013 was running a campaign with Stonewall which supported Gay Footballers. This

campaign was called the “Right behind Gay Footballers” Campaign and it involved sportsmen and

sports women all over the world wearing rainbow colour laces in order to support Gay Footballers.

The most recent new strategy which Paddy Power adapted, occurred in 2016. They adopted a new

strategy, in order to stay dominating the industry. They merged with the company “Betfair”. It is

hoped that this partnership will create the world’s largest public online betting and gaming company

by revenue. The companies plan on doing this by using enlarged scales, Using their experience and

capabilities. They also have distinctive and complementary brands in their favour so they make quite

a powerful partnership.

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The strategic Position of the CompanyThe environment

The macro EnvironmentWe analyse the Macro environment of Paddy Power using three different tools. These tools include

A PEST Analysis

Key Drivers

Scenarios

The purpose of analysing the Macro Environment of Paddy Power is to help discover possible future

opportunities or threats for the newly established Paddy Power Betfair Plc. These Opportunities and

Threats are external to the company and are outside the control of the industry. Considering Paddy

Power Operate in five different Countries (Australia, England, Ireland, Bulgaria and Italy), A wide

range of information had to be taken into account when completing this analysis.

Firstly, I constructed an in depth PEST analysis to establish the Political, Economic, Social and

Technological factors that affect Paddy Power.

Political Factors

The main political factors which are increasingly impacting Paddy Power are the Government

Regulations on Betting. Most Regulations for gambling are quite similar across the different

countries in which Paddy Powers operates in.

In Ireland on the 15th March 2015, the president, Michael D Higgins, signed Irelands Betting

Amendment act 2015. As a result of his actions, A licensing regime was introduced for Bookmakers

(Including Paddy Power) and betting intermediaries.

In Australia, The Gambling Regulations are done at two completely separate levels. The two levels

are as follows

o Central Government

o State and Territory level

The role of the Central Government in regards to Gambling in Australia is to regulate the Hobby.

They are responsible for the passing and amending of the relevant legislations.

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Economic Factors

There is a wide range of negative and positive effects which gambling can have on any country’s

economy. Positive effects which Gambling, and therefor Paddy Power, can have on an economy is

that it creates revenue. Currently, in all of the countries where Paddy Power has located, there has

been an increase in economic Development, An increase in employment percentage and there has

also been quite a large increase in tax revenue. Although Paddy Power did lose out on Profits when

the Recession arose in certain parts of the world, E.G Ireland, they have made a huge increased

improvement in profits since 2015. Governments have no choice but to accept and welcome the

Gambling industry as it is an economic need and they need the extra revenue.

Paddy Power is based in countries where gambling is a legal pastime. The reason Ireland, England,

Australia, Bulgaria and Italy have chosen to legalize Gambling is to create a large profit margin for

their countries. Other than the profit which can be made from Gambling, The number of outlets

owned by Paddy Power across the world creates a large employment base.

However, Due to the fact that Gambling can become an addiction, the industry can also cost

Governments a large Sum of money in regards to crime, Social pathologies and social interruption.

These factors should all be taken into account, and never undervalued, when looking at the

economic damages caused by Paddy Power and the gambling industry.

For Paddy Power, The legality of Gambling and the increasing ways of accessing Paddy Power

accounts EG Through the webpage or Mobile Apps, has also created a threat for the economy in

terms of health and social costs.

In England, The Gambling industry pays betting and gaming duties, which have previously reached a

total of £1.4 billion annually. The gambling industry in England are extremely proud to be able to

contribute that sum of money to the British Economy.

Social

The main social effects of gambling which may affect Paddy Powers external environment is the

outlook that the public have on Gambling. Society’s views on addiction is a major factor for gambling

as there is a small number of people for which gambling may become a huge problem for them .

However, the gambling Industry have 100% commitment to helping, protecting and decreasing

problem gamblers. In the UK, there is a project whereby the Gambling Industry contribute a large

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sum of money to gambling related research and education. For example over 2012/2013, the

gambling industry in the UK contributed over £5 million through the responsible gambling trust.

Technological

In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of people using online betting as

a hobby. Since 2008, online gambling has grown by an impressive 1386%. There competition in the

industry is quite fragmented for example there is Paddy Power, Betfair, Bet365 and Ladbrokes. The

public have great use of applications for example phone applications to download gambling apps or

betting games. Betfair have found that over one year, they received an increase of 70% of users. This

accounts for 4% of the Revenue per year. The negative side of technology being used so intensely is

that of hackers were to take advantage of Paddy Powers website, they could potentially gain a large

range of personal information about the customers at Paddy Power. Hacking can be done so easily

to companies especially if entry barrier to systems are low or easily accessible. People are also

beginning to change their customer needs and find gambling from home or work easier and less

hassle then trying to get to an outlet. With the use of technology, Customers can take advantage of

online gaming as well as gambling from home.

Industries and SectorsIn order to analyse the industries and sectors, I have used Porters Five forces framework. Porter’s

five forces is an important and simple framework for managers to use to help them understand

where the power is in a significant business situation and the competitive strength the company has

in their current position. It also helps a manager understand the strength of the position the

company is moving into.

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The main competitors for Paddy Power would be

Ladbrokes

William Hill

Bet365

Boyle sports

Before the merger took place, Betfair would have been Paddy Powers main online competitors. By

merging with Betfair, Paddy Power has decreased its competition by a significant proportion. The

gambling industry between Ireland and the UK can be described as Oligopoly. This means that there

are few firms in the industry that dominate. In the gambling industry the three most popular firms

would be Paddy Power, Betfair, William Hill and Bet365.

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The Threat of substitutes

Due to the fact that online betting is becoming increasingly popular, there is a strong threat

substitutes. This is due to the fact that it is extremely difficult to communicate and interact with

customers when they are using online websites, therefore brand loyalty could be hard to achieve.

The lotto can be a major threat for gambling outlets as people prefer to purchase lottery tickets

instead of betting online or going through the hassle of going into an outlet. There is a major

increase of people buying lottery tickets when there is a draw which has a huge pay out. These

draws tend to get airtime on the news and therefore attract customers.

Casinos are another alternative that people can use instead of betting games and gambling outlets.

Holidays are often planned based on going to casinos EG Las Vegas where large sums of money can

be made. Often these types of holidays involve many weeks of saving therefore people sacrifice

going to their local outlet, to save for a holiday.

The threat of new entrants

Threat of new entrants is just as strong as threat of substitutes due to the low entry barriers of the

gambling industry. For example, an entrepreneur would only need a small capital to gain a position

in the market. However, new entrants would make little or no difference to Paddy Power because

they already have such a high and successful market share especially after merging with Betfair.

Bargaining power of suppliers

In this instance, the bargaining power of suppliers would be the power that the industries such as

sports industry and horse racing industry have on the gambling industry. The answer to this would

be they have extremely weak power over the gambling industry. The gambling industry distributes a

large quantity of resources back into these specific industries. The poker industry has moderate

power over the betting industry as in poker there is a slight ability to be able to promote your

favourable company in the gambling industry.

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Bargaining power of buyers.

The customers of the firms in the gambling industry are the buyers. They have moderate control

over the firms as they can decide what firms they are going to use and therefore give their money to.

The factors which the customers take into consideration are

1) Best customer service

2) Minimum fees/costs

3) Confidence in the website and privacy of their personal information

4) Number of betting options e.g. online, in store, On your mobile

Competitors and MarketsIn this section, I focus on the strategic Groups, The strategic Customers and the market segments.

The firms within the strategic group of the gambling industry are companies which I have mentioned

before- Ladbrokes and Bet365. Before the merger, Betfair would have been Paddy Powers biggest

competition as Paddy Power and Betfair have the most in common. Firms in this strategic group

have similar strategies, similar characteristics and compete on a similar bases.

Opportunities and threats Opportunities for Paddy Power has increased dramatically after the merge with Betfair. This merger

means less competition for the company and a larger market segment.

There is a continuous growing demand for online betting and gambling which Paddy Power

are market leaders of. If they take advantage of this growing demand, a huge profit margin

could possibly be made/maintained at Paddy Power.

The income for Paddy Power is constantly flowing because it is such a popular company with

a successful brand name and marketing campaign.

The merger means that Paddy Power are now enabled to access new customer networks in

which they will be able to communicate and engage with customers to find out their specific

customer needs and try and fulfil them needs.

The merger also means that Paddy Power can use Betfair betting license to globally expand

the company into foreign markets.

There are a small number of threats which effect Paddy Power such as issues involving breaking

down of technology, rising costs of raw materials and negative perception from the public.

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Breaking down of Technology-Due to the growing demand for online gambling, Paddy Power have to

be prepared for the event that technology breaks down. Another threat, which effected Paddy

Power in previous years, is the event of a hacking scandal. In 2014, Paddy Power revealed to the

public that they were a victim of an enormous cyber-attack effecting 649,055 of their customers in

2010. The company told the public that, although no financial information was stolen, Names, Emails

and passwords of customers were all compromised. (Ltd, 2015)

Strategic Capability of Paddy Power

The Critical Success FactorsCritical success factors are those that are either of great value to the customer or add great value in

terms of cost.

Marketing online is the most effective and efficient way of promoting your company. As it is also

extremely cost friendly, many companies took advantage of online presence. With the increase of

social media and mobile phone usage over the past number of years, this method of doing business

proved to be a huge success for many companies.

Paddy Power is one of the most successful

companies for embracing the world of online

marketing and using social networks and Phone

Apps to engage with customers. Their approach to

digital technology and digital marketing is a

reflection on how profitable and successful the

company are today.

Paddy Power began their online adventure in the

year of 2000. Annually, approximately three quarters of Paddy Powers profit comes from their

online presence.

Customers of Paddy Power enjoy and appreciate the chance to be able to bet and play e-games

online. They are extremely well positioned in their online market, with leading penetration in

mobile and social media.

Creating this critical success factor for customers of Paddy Power was difficult to establish as it took

a lot of time and a lot of work from the employees at Paddy Power to build up the audience which the

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company currently have. They changed their whole content strategy and from then, went from being

an ordinary social network page to a successful, popular and most talked about pages on Facebook for

people between the age-bracket of 18-30 years.

The new strategy which Paddy Power now promoted on their Facebook page was fun and excitement.

They joked about the sporting news on that specific day as well as incorporating their own marketing

campaigns into their page. Before this, Engagement with public was poor and the Facebook page

looked empty. Status updates were left as the most recent update for weeks on end and they were

heavily focused on purely just promoting Paddy Power. The company offered very little for customers

to be excited about.

Methods like asking people to like and share posts on their Facebook page was a huge success for the

company establish when the post was accompanied by imagery. The engagement continued to

increase on a weekly basis. They company’s audience continued to extend which showed in their

profits.

This digital presence was popular for an audience of 18-30 year olds. This age bracket was of great

importance to Paddy Power as this was the demographic that Paddy Power believed earned the most

disposable income. They are also the people that are the most digital savvy with the potential to grow

brand loyalty as they get older.

If Paddy Power aim to keep customers engaged with this critical success factor, it is vital that the

company keep up to date with answering comments and holding competitions in order to satisfy

customers and to show them that the company are paying attention.

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As a result of their witty Facebook comments and imagery uploads, Paddy Powers online venture

changed rapidly. Currently, the number of people who have liked the Paddy Power Facebook Page is

1,507,268. This is an amazingly impressive figure for any company. The large number means that

there is a high chance Paddy Power is appearing on a large number of newsfeeds.

Building Upon Its Success

Although Facebook is the most successful social media network for Paddy Power, Paddy Power also

has a strong online presence on the Social media Twitter site with over 576k followers on their main

Twitter page (which doesn’t include the side pages for poker , e-games etc.)

The Critical Success factors for Paddy Power are based on their online presence.

Resources and Competences

ResourcesResources can be tangible and intangible. Tangible resources are physical assets such as the land,

buildings, Plant, Labor and finance of Paddy Power. Intangible resources are non-physical assets such

as reputation and knowledge of Paddy Power.

Physical Resources for Paddy Power

The fixed assets (which include the property, plant and equipment) which are owned by the Paddy

Power and Betfair came to the value of €38,822,000 in the year ending in December 2015. The

machinery which Paddy Power use is up to date as they need to be constantly updating their presence

online. The machinery which they need to use has to be effective and efficient. As a result from the

recent merger, a head office for the combined companies will be created in both Ireland and England.

Betfair staff who are currently working at the Betfair office in Ringsend are being relocated to the

Paddy Power offices in Clonskeagh.

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Human Resources for Paddy Power

It has recently been announced that Paddy Power are planning to cut down their workforce between

Ireland and England by letting go 650 of their employees. This decreasing of the work force has

arisen from the merge of Betfair and Paddy Power. The joint company believes the cut will help the

combined group make a saving of £52 million (€62 million). There is expected to be 350 job losses in

the UK and 300 in Ireland. Due to office closures and relocations, some people’s position in the

Paddy Power company may change as a result of the merge. The transfer of roles for the Paddy Power

Employees will be an advantage to them and to the company. Human resources is one of the main

areas which the merger effects because of the lapse of people necessary to complete HR tasks.

(Wilson, 2016)

Intangible resources

This section involves the brand image and reputation of Paddy Power. I focused on how the

organisation is perceived by customers, Community and suppliers.

For some, Paddy Power can be described as a proxy for Ireland. People describe the

company as fun and entertaining. For customers of Paddy Power, They enjoy the adrenaline

of winning/betting on sports events or other betting chances for example, who will win the

next government election. The public in Ireland have extremely high disregard for the

company of Paddy Power, as do people in the UK.

The successful brand image and reputation of Paddy power has developed from a carefully

thought out business strategy, a perfectly cultivated brand tone of voice and high reputation

management engagement. (Tyrrell, 2014)

CompetencesCompetences are a linked set of skills, activities and resources that deliver high quality

service to customers and differentiate the business from its competitors. The main

competence for the company of Paddy Power is career motivation. Everyone who works at

Paddy Power, Wants to be there. Paddy Power is an extremely difficult company to try and

find a job in as there is such a high demand of people who want to work there. For this

reason, Employees at Paddy Power work to the best of their ability in order to ensure

stability in the company.

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Another core competence at Paddy Power is the marketing success which the company

achieves. Paddy Power is known for producing cheeky and controversial advertising

campaigns in order to get into the public eye and gain attention from potential/current

customers. Some of the most controversial advertising campaigns that Paddy Power has

released are the following.

Distinctive CapabilitiesPaddy Power use the strategic and dynamic capabilities of the organisation in order to contribute to

the long term survival of the company and to help with their competitive advantage. The dynamic

capabilities of Paddy Power are also changing constantly. For example, Paddy Power produce new

games on a monthly basis in order to keep their products up to date and to engage their customers

with newer exciting offerings. Also, Because Paddy Power Produce new Apps for Androids and

IPhones which match to their E-Games, customers feel more connected with the company. The

specific strategic capabilities of Paddy Power are the abilities of the employees to be able to connect

with the customer on a personal level. This involves helping the customer and providing knowledge

so that they use Paddy Powers service again or download The Paddy Power App.

Bench-Marking with CompetitorsAs bench marking is the ongoing structured process of identifying and understanding practices of

other industry leaders to help a company improve their performance level, it doesn’t really apply to

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Paddy Power. Paddy Power is the head of the Gambling industry at the moment, especially after

merging with Betfair. However, Merging with Betfair helped Paddy Power to improve their online

websites and portals as Betfair specialised in online gambling. Other companies use Paddy Power as

their benchmark because it is such a successful company.

Financial ReportsExcluding customer balance of approximately sixty three million pounds, The Paddy Power Company

have a Net Debt of approximately one hundred and forty six million pounds after the merger. This

figure includes fees and stamp duty in relation to the merger, dividends and payments of costs.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Paddy Power

Strengthsa. Paddy Power has extremely experienced business units.

b. High growth rate.

c. After the Merger, Paddy Power Betfair PLC have a larger marketing network, a wider

customer segment and a larger market share.

d. They have a strong online presence

e. Live betting options

f. Good strong Odds Quality

WeaknessesAs they are such a successful company, there is hardly any weaknesses which can be defined for

Paddy Power Betfair Plc at the present time. Some may say that their cheeky advertisement

methods can be a weakness for the company as they can sometimes receive a large scale of

backlash, However as mentioned later in the report, Paddy Power view any publicity as good

publicity so they do not consider this a weakness for their company.

Strategic Purpose

Values, Mission, Vison and strategic ObjectivesStrategic Objective

As Paddy Power has only recently merged with Betfair on the 2nd of February 2016, they companies

are yet to produce a combined strategy which best describes this suits these merging companies.

However, in previous years, Paddy Power and Betfair have had similar business strategies.

Both companies:

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Focus on a regulated Market- Although the group are continuing to search for increased business on

both a business to customer and business to business level, They have successfully held onto their

market leader positions in The UK, Ireland , Australia and The USA. 94% of the group’s total revenue

has be gained in their regulated market.

Investment in Product- Innovation and Intuitive design with new products are the key features

which Paddy Power and Betfair use to acquire customers. Paddy Power and Betfair believe they are

so innovative with their products that it differentiates them from the rest of the businesses in the

industry. Due to the fact that both companies are extremely successful on a global scale, they have the

substantial technology and product development resources that they need to create new products

quickly and efficiently. (Strategy, 2016)

Mission

Paddy Powers mission after merging with Betfair was to become joined market leaders of the

industry in Ireland and the UK. The combination of the two companies connects the four leading

sports betting brands in the world whom are Paddy Power, Betfair, Sports bet and TVG. By merging

with Betfair, Paddy Power have eliminated one of their main competitors. This was an extremely

well thought out strategic move.

Vision

The vision for the future of Paddy Power is to take advantage of the growing gambling industry and

to expand the business into a wider global market. Paddy Power will use their strong advertising

campaigns to generate a wider consumer base. Expanding to a larger variety of countries can be a

risk, but with the success of Paddy Powers online website, and now with Betfair, betting services and

phone apps, it could be a cost effective risk and an advantage for the company.

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Purpose

Paddy Power, The fourth Generation stated at a networking meeting in 2015

“Our brand purpose is to create

the most engaging, entertaining

betting experience helping

punters live on the wild side of

life while our brand personality is

edgy, original and witty,”

(Masterson and Profile, 2016)

Corporate Governance and Governance StructureCorporate GovernanceCorporate Governance describes the structures and systems of control that managers are held

accountable to those who have a stake in the organisation. The people, elected by the board, to

manage the day to day business of Paddy Power is the Chief Executive Managers of the company.

This involves Breon Corcoran, Alex Gersh and Andy McCue for Paddy Power. The board hold a

variety of standard board meetings each year. On average, there are approximately 8 standard

board meetings a year. However, in 2015 with the merge of Paddy Power and Betfair, there was

eighteen full meetings of the board. The board of directors at Paddy Power has established four

different committees. The functions of each other the individual committees vary depending on their

responsibilities.

The committees established were as follows:

-The Audit Committee -The Nomination Committee

-The Remuneration Committee -The Newly constituted risk

Committee

The audit committee are responsible for the financial integrity of the Paddy Power company. They

ensure the internal financial reports and financial risk management systems are working efficiently.

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The remuneration committee are responsible for making recommendations to the board on the

remuneration of the company. The executive directors and senior executives take this information

and update their remuneration policy.

It’s the responsibility of the nomination committee to recommend people to the board of whom

they think should be elected as new directors/ Executives. They also participate in the succession

plans for directors and senior executives. Other functions of the nomination committee includes

reviewing the current composition of the company and purposing any changes they see necessary.

The risk committee was established as a result of the recent merger. There is a number of functions

which the risk committee will be responsible for. These functions include

1. Review the reputational impact of the group’s activities

2. Review and update the group’s bookmaking risk policies

3. They will then approve limits in relation to the risk policies

The board of directors also have the overall responsibilities of the system of internal control of the

company. They have delegated the responsibilities of the implementation of this system. They have

also set out a code of compliance which should be adhered to when maintaining and reviewing this

system.

Governance Structure

The structure of the Board is reviewed on a regular basis at Paddy Power. It consists of a number of

different directors with a range of background experiences. For example, some of the past

experiences of the directors include financing, leadership, management control and mainly directors

from the betting background.

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The chairman of the board Gary McGann was appointed on the 1 July 2015 after the resignation of

the former Chairman, Nigel Northridge. The Chief Executive officer and the Chairperson of the board

are two completely separate people with their own set of functions and responsibilities. As a result

of the merger, Breon Corcoran was appointed Chief Executive Officer on the 2 February 2016.

The board currently includes three executive directors, One Independent non-executive director and

eight independent non-executive directors. The nomination committee found that having a board of

12 directors at the Paddy Power Company suited the businesses need for the sufficient skills and

expertise necessary.

Business Ethics and Cultural ContextPaddy Powers approach to Corporate Social Responsibility is to ensure that their current customers

gamble in a responsible manner. Paddy Power have established many initiatives and schemes

throughout the years to try and promote responsible gambling. They contribute huge sums of

money on an annual basis to charities and organisations related to Paddy Power.

In 2015, Paddy Power donated €733,000 to charities around the world. In addition to this, the

employees of Paddy Power raised funds of over €185,000 for the Paddy Powers nominated charities

of the year Special Olympics Ireland and Special Olympics Great Britain.

Some of the Paddy Power initiatives are as follows

Senat Group-Launched in 2014, The Senat group was established to promote responsible

gambling. The idea behind the group was to help raise awareness of responsible gambling.

The group provides information on the risk of Gambling and how to stay in control of

gambling. The advertising costs for this group are estimated at approximately £7.9 million

since the launch between radio/television campaigns and over 6500 posters in shop

windows.

Sports for all- The motto used at the Paddy Power Headquarters is “Leave no one behind”.

Paddy power held many events in order to raise money for the special Olympic charity

partners. These events included football tournaments, walking over hot coals, Paddy Powers

mini special Olympic and many more fun but beneficial activities

Adult Enterprise Programme- The aim of this programme is to promote entrepreneurship in

disadvantaged areas. Paddy Power invested over £38,000 in 2015 to this programme.

However, Although Paddy Power have contributed large sums of money to Charities and

organisations to promote responsible gambling, there has been some instances of unethical

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behaviour from Paddy Power. This behaviour is mainly related to their advertising. For example,

Paddy Power had extremely bad publicity in relation to the Oscar Pistorius case. Many people

believed it was highly immoral for Paddy Power to be making money of a murder trial, However,

Paddy Power defended themselves with a statement in the Independent on the 03/03/2104 stating

“This is the biggest profile trial that has ever been. It’s the only topic of conversation around the world.”

“It’s to provide customers with the opportunity to bet on something that everyone is talking to.”

(Jivanda, 2016)

Strategic ChoicesCorporate strategy and Diversification

Product/ Market DiversityPaddy Power have a range of different products/services which they offer to customers in an attempt

to gain a higher market share and to cater for the specific needs for the majority of their customers. In

addition to the gambling services which Paddy Power offer at their retail outlets, Paddy Power also

offer technological games through phone apps and board games for fun.

The diversity of the games which Paddy Power offer are as follows

-Roulette -Black Jack - Virtual Games

-Card and Table Games -Video Poker -Tv Games

-Slots -Deal or No Deal - Arcade games

Games in the retail outlets

Paddy Power aims at a mixed Variety of customers. Some Customers of Paddy Power enjoy betting

as a social hobby and do it for fun. Some become addicted and they feel they need to participate in a

gambling activity.

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As well as being interested in gaming and gambling, a majority of Paddy Power’s market segment are

interested in sports and my bet on teams/people in sporting activities. The most popular sports which

gamblers enjoy betting on are

G.A.A Golf Tennis Darts

Soccer Horse Racing MMA/Wrestling

Rugby Darts Cricket

There is also a strong increase of gambling coming up to Christmas with Reality TV shows such as

The X Factor, I’m a celebrity get me out of here, Britain’s got talent and Celebrity Big Brother.

People enjoy to bet on who they think will win the contest.

Paddy Power are innovative and create different betting competitions depending on what is popular at

the time. For example, for elections they put on a poll for people to place bets on.

For this reason, Paddy Power appeal to a wide range of customers in their huge market base.

Direction and Methods of Development

Annsoff Matrix and Paddy Power

In order to analyse the different strategic directions of Paddy Power, I focused on the Annsoff

Matrix. This matrix is a strategic planning tool which companies use to help executives, senior

managers, and markers establish what needs to be done to improve the future growth of the

25


company. (Annsoff Matrix, 2016). As one of the rationales for the Paddy Power and Betfair merger

was to create a “stronger combined group with market-leading talent, technology and operations”,

(Home, 2016) I feel it is appropriate to classify Paddy Powers current strategy under group A and

Group B

Market Penetration

This strategy focuses on increasing the market share within the current market using current

offerings. As mentioned before, Paddy Power are holders of one of the highest market shares in the

industry, and they aim maintain their position in the market in a number of ways. Since Paddy Power

was first established in 1988, the main service which the company offers is a fun and entertaining

betting experience. Although Paddy Power has produced many new ways of gambling throughout

the years, Paddy Power’s outlets have been running since the establishment of the company.

New Product and Service Development

This strategy involves delivering new products or services to the existing markets. In order to be

successful with this strategy, Paddy Power needs to understand their changing customer needs. As

I’ve mentioned before, in previous years Paddy Power have continued to release new modes of

gambling based on their customer needs and new technologies. With their production of their online

webpage and e-gaming services, Paddy Power have continued to engage with their market segment

throughout the years which has helped them to maintain their high market share.

Market Development

This is the strategy that involves Global Market Share, Global strategic market and Global Balance.

The recent merger will be a huge advantage of this strategy as Betfair have a presence in not only

the UK and Ireland but in Australia. Betfair have a license to operate in a range of other countries

such as Malta, Spain, Italy, The USA, Denmark and Bulgaria so the recent merger could be a huge

opportunity for Paddy Power to take advantage of the global market.

Methods of Strategy Development - Mergers, acquisitions and alliancesOver the years, Paddy Power has been involved in three main Acquisitions and mergers. The main

mergers which took place was the merge of the forty retail outlet, that established the Paddy Power

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Company and the recent Betfair and Paddy Power merge. The main Acquisition which occurred in

Paddy Power was the McGranghan Merger.

The first merger of Paddy Power occurred when the company was established in 1988. The strategic

motives behind this merger was to gain a wider customer segment base and to eliminate

competition. The combination of the 40 retail outlets encouraged increased innovation of new

products and services for the Paddy Power company. There was also financial motives for this

merger such as improved financial efficiency. Combining the retail outlets, and rebranding them

under the same name, improved the global impact of the company.

McGranaghan Racing Acquisition

In 2008, Paddy Power took over the ownership of the Northern Irish Company ‘McGranaghan

Racing’. McGranaghan Racing was a leading independent bookmaker whom were based in Belfast.

This acquisition meant that Paddy Powers 241 Licensed betting Offices between Ireland and the UK

was going to be increased with a further eight licensed betting offices.

McGranaghan Racing Company was founded in 1952 and contained 50 employees at the time of the

takeover. Paddy Power retained all of the 50 staff members from the company. Thing location of the

Licensing betting offices are as follows:

1. 3 in Belfast City Centre

2. 3 in West Belfast

3. 2 in Belfast Suburbs

The consideration paid to McGranaghan for the takeover was £19 million.

CEO of Paddy Power at the time of the acquisition, Patrick Kennedy, Stated

“McGranaghan has a similar business model to our own, employing a very competitive offering to

drive very high shop turnover and profitability. Acquisition is the necessary route into this interesting

market and McGranaghan is an ideal entry point for Paddy Power. The estate has an attractive mix

of different locations and like Paddy Power is a punter focused business which promotes a very

competitive and attractive offering that will drive both footfall in our shops and increased

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profitability throughout our company”. (Plc et al., no date)

Kennedy believed that the company had already gained profit and success in Northern Ireland

through use of intangible services such as online betting and phone services. He explained how

having tangible features in Belfast, such as an outlet and offices, would make a huge difference to

the company’s market share. This was a huge opportunity for Paddy Power to introduce products

and services to Northern Ireland. The company invested a significant seven figure sum into this

acquisition by refitting the outlets with all the trading used under the Paddy Power brand name.

The advantages for Paddy Power for this Acquisition was as follows

I. It enabled Paddy Power to move rapidly into new markets without much marketing

necessary.

II. By doing so, it extended to a new geographical area

III. McGranaghan Racing has underused resources that needed to be resold. By making this

purchase, Paddy Power extended their market size and their market share.

Paddy Power and Betfair Merger

The most recent strategic decision for Paddy Power was to merge with competitor company

‘Betfair’. The rationale behind this merger was

The merger of the two companies would produce a stronger combined group. The financial

motive of the merger was to create greater scale leads to higher return on investment. The

strategic motive for the merger was to combine the two industry leading groups. The

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combined companies together provided a significant strength in capabilities and talent. The

two companies produce extremely strong and distinctive brand images so the merge will be

of great benefit.

The merger established significant cost synergies

Approximate £50 annualised on a pre-tax basis. The complete benefit of the synergies which

were caused by the merge are to be achieved after three years. The Integration principles of

the merge meant shared technology, operations and corporation function.

Combined brands, capabilities, channels and geographic mixes meant a stronger company

with a larger market share

Pooled capabilities and talents can help both companies in terms of Product Development,

Risk and Trading, Online Marketing, Social Media and customer operations.

The greater scale drives growth for the company

The merger also gave the combined company a high cash generative and a strong balance

sheet.

Although the companies of Paddy Power and Betfair create successful synergy, There is very little

diversification created from the merger. The strategies which Paddy Power currently possess are

built onto their current products/ Services and aimed directly at Paddy Powers current customers.

In order to analyse the different strategies of Paddy Power, I focused on the Annsoff Matrix. This

table is a strategic planning tool which companies use to help executives, senior managers, and

markers establish what needs to be done to improve the future growth of the company. (Annsoff

Matrix, 2016). As one of the rationales for the Paddy Power and Betfair merger was to create a

“stronger combined group with market-leading talent, technology and operations”, (Home, 2016) I

feel it is appropriate to classify Paddy Powers current strategy under group A and Group B( See

highlighted below).

As you can see in the above table, Businesses in group ‘A’ implement a “Market Penetration”

Strategy. Businesses who are classified under this section try to grow their company by using existing

offerings to their current customer base. The larger the market share, the bigger the impact this

strategy will have on businesses who choose to use it. The two ways in which this can be achieved is

by

1- Selling more products to current customers

2- Gaining a larger customer base within the current market segment.

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The merger of Paddy Power and Betfair established a wider consumer base for both companies, as

they are were both singularly two of the fastest growing internet betting operators in the world. By

merging the companies, it has allowed Paddy Power to focus on a wider market share. One of the

key approaches for Paddy Power when dealing with this section is to maintain the market share of

its current services/products. They do this by putting huge emphasis on their advertising, which as

discussed, Paddy Power have proven to excel in. Another way in which Paddy Power engage with

this particular strategy is by influencing customers to use the service more frequently. Paddy Power

have done this by introducing Mobile Phone Apps and Internet betting. (Reserved, 2015) However,

Consolidation is also a huge factor when implanting the Market Penetration Strategy in any

company.

Implementing the group ‘B’ Strategy is another strategy which Paddy Power use effectively in their

company. The new product and Service Development strategy is based on the theory that a

company attempts to gain profits and growth by creating new products and services for existing

customers.

As you will have noticed after reading the history of Paddy Power, The Company establish new

products and services in an attempt to engage with their customers on a regular basis. The variance

of products/services available by Paddy Power plays a huge roll in the success of the company.

Success Criteria When Paddy Power (The fourth generation) attended a Networking event in Limerick of October

2015, He admitted that “Engaging with customers” was the main factor which causes the company

to be so successful. He explained to the attendees of the meeting that the method Paddy Power

engage with the public the most is through advertisement. He described the advertising that Paddy

Power carries out as ‘Mischief’. He explained how ‘Mischief’ has such a vital role in their advertising

that the company has employed someone to fill the position of “head of mischief”.

At the same meeting, Paddy Power recalled some of the advertising stunts which led to the publicity

of Paddy Power worldwide. Some of the advertising stunts which he remembered was turning up to

the Brit awards dressed as daft Punk and revealing the Paddy Power pants on the red carpet. Paddy

Power explained that these types of “Stunts” committed by Paddy Power took over a year to plan.

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International Strategy

Paddy Power are an International

company whom operate retail

outlets in Ireland and the UK.

They also operate websites in

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Ireland, The UK, Australia and Italy. They are in possession of a games development business in

Bulgaria.

Reasons for Australian Expansion

After the purchase of Sports bet by Paddy Power in 2009, the two companies continued their

success due to the similar values. While employing 470 employees across Australia and remaining

market leader since Paddy Power bought over the company, Sportsbet have continued to be

innovation in the production of new products. Sportsbet were the first company to introduce

products such as Top Tote Plus and Protest pay out to the Australian market. Sportsbet and Paddy

Power are similar in a marketing sense as they both enjoy mischief marketing. This is how Paddy

Power predicted that this strategic purchase would be successful.

Reasons for Italian Expansion

As Paddy Power are always looking to expand and grow the company into bigger markets, Italy was a

majorly attractive market to Paddy Power as they have the biggest gambling market in the world.

They entered the online Italian market in 2012 and displayed their professionalism which they

gained in Australia, Ireland the UK. The response to Paddy Power in Italy was ecstatic, which led to

the introduction of the second online product, Casino. For each game which Paddy Power produces

online, they produce a phone app on IPhone or Android to match the game.

Reasons for the Bulgarian Expansion

Paddy Power work closely with the employees at the Bulgarian company Cayetano. After Paddy

Power Acquired the company in 2011, they have continued to produce new games and technologies

for Paddy Power. Paddy Power used the Bulgarian Expansion as a way to exploit the strategic

capabilities of the technological industry in Bulgaria.

The Paddy Power Betfair Plc. formed as a result of the merger has become market leader in all of its

operating countries, except for Bulgaria. The company also has strong business to business and

business to customer relationships around the world.

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Business Level Strategy

Forces Influencing Business Strategy

Resource Allocating is one of the useful dimensions of decision making in corporate strategy. The

main resource allocating tool which I focus on in relation to Paddy Power is ‘The Boston Consulting

Group’s Growth Share Matrix. This model is based on the theory that business units can be classified

into four different categories, which are Stars, Cash cows, Question Marks and Dogs. The different

groups are categorised in accordance to their growth rate and Market share. I believe the Phone

Apps and Egame products are strong business units for Paddy Power. The reason I believe these are

forces influencing business strategy is because they have their own competitors and they are a profit

centre for the Paddy Power Betfair Plc. For example, there are many phone apps out whom compete

with the Paddy Power phone App. Someone the main competitors would be Ladbrokes phone App

and Net Bet App.

I think Paddy Powers E-gaming and App units can be classified as stars. The reason I believe this is

because Paddy Power are market leader so their products are extremely popular with high growth

rate and High market share. They account for over 45% of the firm’s profits but they do (especially

the e-gaming products, as they are technological) require large capital expenditure. I think they are

funded greatly by the cash cows that are the retail outlets of Paddy Power.

Bases of competitive AdvantagePaddy Power base their competitive advantage on their market position. As they are current market

leaders they have a huge advantage over other firms in the industry. In Italy, by the end of 2015,

they launched 5 new mobile games. As Italy has one of the highest level of smartphone and tablet

interaction in the world, this was a huge competitive advantage for Paddy Power.

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Paddy Power thrive in becoming leaders for customer care and responsible gambling. Due to their

committed employees, Paddy Power have already proved themselves to be a strong and reliable

operator in all of the countries which they operate in.

Since Paddy Power was established, they have been leaders of the industry in terms of Social Media,

Updated with technologies such as Apps and Smartphones, and they predicted the increase of

demand in online Gambling. The reason for which Paddy Power believe they have a competitive

advantage over others is because they put peoples demand for entertainment first.

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Sustaining Competitive AdvantagePaddy Power aim to keep the high standards of their company by maintaining their retail outlets to

make them feel new and trendy. Instead of the common look of a bookies, which is grotty and dull,

Paddy Powers has ensured each of their retail outlets are bright and clean. They want to provide

exciting and social able locations where by people can go and enjoy their time. They have

professional staff with extreme knowledge in gambling working at all times to ensure high quality

customer satisfaction. The number of active online customers in the UK alone for Paddy Power

increased by 76% between the years of 2009 to 2014.

Paddy Power release new products on a monthly basis to keep their current customers satisfied.

One of the most essential factors which Paddy Power include in all of their new products is that they

are focused on convenience and content.

Paddy Powers brand image is a huge consideration in sustaining competitive Advantage. Paddy

Power Like to listen to their customers and they also like their listeners to feel heard. The company

make it their mission to take on board any criticism or advice which they received from the public

and integrate the information into their business strategy. On average, every male adult between

the UK and Ireland whom own a Facebook account, have at least one Paddy Power account.

35


Strategy in ActionStructure

The different sections of the Paddy Power company include

Marketing and Analysis section

36


The marketing team, Their Advertisements and their taglines are the forces behind the success of

Paddy Power. As mentioned earlier in the report, they use mischief in their methods of advertising

and they are not afraid to cause a reaction (good or bad). They believe any publicity is good

publicity. Within the marketing section of the company there are three sub-groups. These sub

groups include the brand team, The Online Marketing Group and The Business Analytical Team.

Risk Section

This section are responsible for listening to customer research and the checking the profitability

modelling of the company. They also chew up behavioural analytics and market/competitor analysis.

They use their individual skills like numerical or technological to tackle foreseeable problems that

may arise. They tackle questions such as how is the industry evolving and what can Paddy Power do

in order to keep up with the rest of the Industry. The sub groups in this section include Trading,

Research Analytics, Sports and Racing sections. (Risk, 2016)

Product and Technology

In this department of Paddy Power, They tackle the most complex B2B and B2C technological

problems within the company. This section involves innovation and imagination if necessary. If

innovation involves the production of a new product then it’s important this strategic process is

carried out. They are the ones to deal with the game operators in the world. There is only one sub

group in this section and it is called CPO. The CPO is made up of 450 people from all over the

countries where Paddy Power Operate.

Retail

This is the section which most people will be familiar with. Paddy Power believes the employees in

their retail stores are more professional and more knowledgeable then employees in other retail

outlets. Paddy Power employees staff who will work effective and efficiently. This means working at

a fast pace to deliver the best but also the quickest possible service to customers. The sub groups in

this section are shop manager, Deputy/Assistant Manager/Cashier or sales assistant.

Sports

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Paddy power describes this section of their company as a machine. Employees in this section work

so hard and so closely together that they replicate a machine. This section was established to gather

a group of employees with the best product, market and commercial minds in order to create a

perfect product for customers at a fair price. The sub groups in this section are the commercial

section and the product Section.

E-Gaming

This section is described as being the most fun section at Paddy Power. This section are in charge of

producing and testing the games which Paddy

Power put on offer. The sub groups in this section

are organised by delegating who tests what game.

The sub groups are games, Poker, Bingo, Live

Casino, Casino, High value and awards.

Business support

This section involves all the departments which is necessary in a business to keep the company

running. They include The HR, Finance Section, Property, Legal, Audit and Compliance, Commercial,

insights and corporate affairs.

Customer Operations

The people in this section are the people who deal with the customer services of Paddy Power

whether it’s online or over the phone. It is important for the employees in this section to be

courteous, Helpful and polite while on the phone to customers. The subgroups in this section include

responsible gambling, Operational Success, Customer Support, Customer Security Investigations,

Customer Payments, Customer Accounts and Dial-A-Bet.

Enabling SuccessManaging people/Information/Finance and Technology

The board of directors comprises of the following

Chairman- Gary McGann

CEO- Breon Corcoran

Chief Operating Officer- Andy McCue

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Chief Financial Officer-Alex Gersh

8 non-executive Directors (4 from Betfair, 4 from Paddy Power)

Paddy Power currently employees over 7000 employees globally, between Betfair and Paddy Power.

ConclusionMy aim for this report was to carry out an expectation of an Irish Company whom is listed on the Dublin/UK stock Exchange. The company, which I clearly based this report on, was Paddy Power. The structure of this report was to include

39


Paddy Powers strategic Position and Paddy Powers Corporate-level/ International Strategy, Business Strategy and Methods of Development.

Paddy Power and Betfair proclaimed after the merger that

“We put our punters first and no future is too bright for them. Together, we are leading the way in defining what a 21st century bookmaker should be-and bring a little bit of mischief with us along the way” (Investor Links, 2016)

Throughout this report, the main issues which repeatedly appears is the marketing methods of Paddy Power and the effects of the most recent Merger of Paddy Power with Betfair.

The Paddy Power company enjoy gaining profits and publicity from their marketing advertisements and campaigns. These campaigns are known to be extremely cheeky and in some cases, offensive, to people in the public. Paddy Power enjoys causing public disagreements and debates through their advertising as all publicity they receive is good publicity. For example, Their Oscar Pistorius advertising campaign which was mentioned in this report cause major public uproar as people described Paddy Power as being distasteful and disrespectful.

After completing this report and the analysis of the company, I have learned that Paddy Power Participates in this type of aggressive marketing because they gain more profits from being in the public eye. They are also an extremely successful company in terms of their SWOT and PESTAL that negative press will not have any significant effect on their market share.

The recent merger with Betfair was a highly successful and clever strategic move carried out by both companies.

Betfair is the world’s largest internet betting site. Paddy Power is one of the most successful Irish bookmakers. Before the merge, they were one of the leaders in their industry. Now, Because of the merger, Paddy Power Betfair Plc are market leaders with the largest market share in the industry.

After completing the report and studying various elements of Paddy Power such as the PESTAL Analysis and the strengths and weaknesses since the Merger, I believe Paddy Power are going to continue to be a successful company and gain large profit margins. They are constantly producing larger varieties of technical products in order to satisfy customers as well as operating their outlets so I believe they have the essential resources to remain market leader of the Industry for the foreseeable future.

If I was to redo this Report again, I would ensure to organise my time more effectively as I found it hard to stick to my original schedule and as a result, I did not finish the report on my predicted finishing date. I finished a week later then I had originally planned.

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Declaration of Plagiarism

I declare that the Work I am submitting for assessment by the Institute examiner is entirely my own work, except where the author or source has been duly referenced and attributed.

I confirm that this material has not been previously submitted for a degree or any other qualification at ITB or any other institution.

I further confirm that I have read and understand the Institute policy on plagiarism in assignments and examinations (3 ASO8.doc) and that I am not, so far as I am aware, in breach of any of these regulations.

Signed Student ID

Sarah Fay B00061143

Course Module

Honours degree General Business Strategic Management

Date

27/04/2016

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paddy power -sarah fay

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