Paddy Power banks on Cheltenham

WITH THE Cheltenham Festival in three weeks, Irish bookie Paddy Power is hoping to avoid last year's carnage when many favourites romped home there and at the Grand National meeting in April.

Finance director Ross Ivers reckons the two meetings cost the firm between £3m and £4m last year, although 'plenty of the punters ended up recycling their winnings with us. But it would be nice this year if there were a few winners for us and a few for them'.

Still, Paddy Power turned in a 15% rise in pre-tax profits to e20.4m (£13.7m) for the year to December on turnover up 36% at e913.6m.

The final dividend goes up 26% to 8.59 cents. Ivers said the group plans to open another 18 shops on the mainland this year, taking the total to 30.