OVER 600 jobs are being lost as a UK high street chain with a branch in Worcester revealed it is closing more than 130 shops across the country next month.
Betfred has confirmed plans to shut 132 betting shops from September, leaving Worcester’s three branches at risk.
The business blamed higher taxes and wider economic uncertainty for the decision.
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The Warrington‑based bookmaker said the closures would affect just over a tenth of its UK estate and leave it with around 1,100 branches nationwide.
An official list of the branches that will close has not yet been announced.
The company currently operates several betting shops in and around Worcester, including one on Derwent Close and another on Trinity Street.
Its branch at The Cross took over the former Merkur Slots casino on May 30 this year.
Betfred , founded by brothers Fred and Peter Done in 1967, has grown into one of the country’s biggest betting shop operators, with the pair’s combined wealth recently estimated at £3.61 billion.
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Jo Whittaker, chief executive of Betfred, said: “We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer national insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes, and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice.
“These are well-run shops, staffed by dedicated colleagues, and it is incredibly hard to see any of them close, but the current fiscal and regulatory environment has made it impossible to keep trading all our shops.
“Our priority now is to support the colleagues affected and to continue serving customers and communities across the rest of our estate.”
Rival gambling operators Paddy Power and William Hill have also shut dozens of stores over the past year.
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