Gala Coral seals complex restructuring

The group, which has 145 bingo clubs and 1,600 betting offices, said it was now positioned for growth after an agreement that will see the company's private equity owners – Candover, Cinven and Permira – exit the business.

The new owners will be led by Apollo, Cerberus, Park Square and York Capital after they converted their debt into equity and injected 200m in cash.

As a result, net debt will reduce by more than 700m to 1.9bn.

Gala Coral's executive chairman Neil Goulden said: "I am delighted that, after nearly 12 months, we have successfully concluded one of the largest and most complex restructurings in UK corporate history.

"The restructured group is now in a strong position and fully able to compete in an increasingly competitive and global gaming market."

The company, which has 17,000 staff, also owns 26 Gala casinos and the eurobet.com online sports betting, casino and poker operation.

Bingo clubs have been under pressure in recent years from the introduction of the smoking ban and restrictions on money-spinning gaming machines.

Such debt-for-equity swaps have become an increasingly common technique to aid the survival of private equity-backed companies saddled with huge debts negotiated to finance their original take- overs.

Rather than forcing companies into administration, as was commonplace during the previous recession, lenders believe it is better to swap loans for equity and weather the storm ahead of any recovery.

The restructured business will retain over 200m of cash and will be focused on investing in both its retail and online arms, Gala said.

Apollo Management partner Rick Press said: "The Gala Coral management team have done a terrific job guiding the business through this process and we, along with all the new shareholders, look forward to helping them to now position the company for future growth."