sportech plc  annual report and accounts 2014
sportech plc 
annual report and accounts 2014
a world leader 
in pool betting welcome to our  
annual report 2014
sportech is one of the largest pool betting 
operators and technology suppliers in the 
world with international reach and a presence 
in over 30 countries
in 2014 we have continued to invest in 
developing our strategic position in the 
us technology and gaming markets whilst 
modernising our football pools business 
positioning us for future growth
strategic report
01 highlights of the year
02 overview
04 chief executive’s review
06 leading the way
08  driving future opportunities
10 kpis
11 financial review
14 operational overview
20 principal risks
22 corporate social 
responsibility report
corporate governance
24 chairman’s statement
26 board of directors and 
senior management
28  corporate governance report
36  report of the remuneration 
committee
37 remuneration report
56 directors’ report
59 independent auditors’ report
financial statements
66 consolidated income statement
67 consolidated statement 
of comprehensive expense
income
68 statements of changes in equity
69 balance sheets
70 statements of cash flows 
71 accounting policies
80 notes to the financial statements
116 shareholder and 
corporate information
what’s inside this report strategic and operational highlights
sportech 
racing and 
digital
 – agreement with betfred to provide new systems and digital 
technology to t otepool uk t ote  
 – launched us online gaming services in february 2015 to iconic 
atlantic citybased resorts casino hotel through sng our joint 
venture with nyx gaming group
sportech 
venues
 – opened 10000 sq ft sports bar and restaurant at our existing 
betting venue in bradley connecticut and launched 
connecticut’s only legal online betting site mywinnerscom 
 – received regulatory approval to open a pipeline of three 
new sports bar  restaurant and betting venues in stamford 
connecticut and in san diego and norco in california
football  
pools
 – acquired record number of new customers to the classic 
pools subscription business 
 – launched new online platform to support customer 
acquisition and facilitate crosssell opportunities from 
core subscription players
financial highlights
revenue  
£m
2012 1077 
2013 1103 
2014 1041 
ebitda  
£m
2012 252 
2013 260 
2014 240 
highlights of the year
strong strategic progress
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 01
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements overview
sportech at a glance
in 2014 we strengthened our strategic 
position in a widening world betting 
and gaming market with technological 
advances and progress in key joint 
ventures and regulatory relationships 
roger withers
chairman
sportech racing and digital
supplier of tote equipment services 
and software both on and offtrack 
online and mobile
sportech venues
exclusive operator of betting on racing 
in venues and online across connecticut 
and the netherlands with opportunities 
to develop in california
the football pools
operator of pools betting predominantly 
through subscription and online channels
division information
division includes bump and igaming joint 
ventures with nyx and picklive
division operates brands winners 
connecticut and runnerz the netherlands 
over 300000 customers playing a range 
of pool games every week
location
us atlanta new jersey california  
uk ireland germany
us connecticut california the netherlands uk
customers
worldwide connecticut california and the netherlands predominantly uk
divisional 
performance
revenue ebitda
£345m £81m
revenue ebitda
£325m £32m
revenue ebitda
£380m £166m
contribution to 
group revenue
 3 3 3 1 3 6
find out more
see pages 14 and 15 see pages 16 and 17 see pages 18 and 19
02 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 in 2014 we strengthened our strategic 
position in a widening world betting 
and gaming market with technological 
advances and progress in key joint 
ventures and regulatory relationships 
roger withers
chairman
sportech racing and digital
supplier of tote equipment services 
and software both on and offtrack 
online and mobile
sportech venues
exclusive operator of betting on racing 
in venues and online across connecticut 
and the netherlands with opportunities 
to develop in california
the football pools
operator of pools betting predominantly 
through subscription and online channels
division information
division includes bump and igaming joint 
ventures with nyx and picklive
division operates brands winners 
connecticut and runnerz the netherlands 
over 300000 customers playing a range 
of pool games every week
location
us atlanta new jersey california  
uk ireland germany
us connecticut california the netherlands uk
customers
worldwide connecticut california and the netherlands predominantly uk
divisional 
performance
revenue ebitda
£345m £81m
revenue ebitda
£325m £32m
revenue ebitda
£380m £166m
contribution to 
group revenue
 3 3 3 1 3 6
find out more
see pages 14 and 15 see pages 16 and 17 see pages 18 and 19
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 03
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements            technology
implement technology 
to drive operational 
performance
           stabilise           
stabilise and 
grow ebitda
more
contracts
more 
contracts 
with greater 
margins
continue 
venue roll out
       based on licences 
       in ct and ca
enhance
profitability
                enhance profitability       
from existing and       
future ventures       
cash flow from core businesses strength of existing relationships and regulatory footprint drive future opportunities
opportunities
igaming and sports 
betting as regulation 
permits
opportunities
new venues online mobile and slots
opportunities
grow a trusted brand
sportech
racing
and
digital
the
football
pools
sportech venues
responsibility    expertise    trust
overview
the group’s strategy is to build a multi
platform gaming business in the us using the 
legal regulated horseracing and greyhound 
operations as a base to position the group 
for broaderbased gaming opportunities as 
regulation develops 
the group comprises three divisions racing 
and digital venues and football pools all 
of which focus on horseracing and football 
markets the racing and digital and venues 
divisions are based in the united states 
where we are licensed by gaming regulators 
in 28 states employing 700 people across 
field operations and four corporate offices 
the football pools is the oldest football 
gaming business in the world and through 
its classic pools product together with a 
range of pools and casino games it 
generates strong cash flows
strategic progress
during 2014 the group has made further 
progress in delivering its strategy this includes 
entry into the new jersey online gaming 
market through sng interactive our joint 
venture with nyx this is an important first 
step for the business in the largest us state 
to have legalised online gaming to date and 
provides a platform for future growth as online 
regulation develops across the us in our 
venues business we opened a 10000 sq ft 
sports bar and restaurant in our bradley venue 
which is attracting a younger more diverse 
customer base in connecticut we also 
launched the state’s only legal online betting 
site mywinnerscom the group obtained 
key regulatory approvals for new sports bar 
restaurant and betting venues in stamford 
connecticut and san diego and norco in 
california refinement of venues expansion 
plans is ongoing and development is subject 
to the group’s available capital resources 
the racing and digital business has secured 
a number of new contracts in the year 
including the supply of a new tote system 
and digital technology to totepool in the uk 
however we have been informed that our 
contract with the californian racing authorities 
to process bets across the state will not be 
renewed at the end of october 2015 
chief executive’s review
positioning sportech as one of the 
leaders in the global betting market
the group’s strategy is to develop 
sportech’s position as one of the leading 
companies in the regulating us and global 
betting industry in 2014 we have continued 
to invest in developing our strategic position 
in the us technology and gaming markets 
whilst modernising our football pools 
business positioning us for future growth
business model
04 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 this difficult trading environment is 
expected to continue in 2015 but we 
remain confident in the longterm value 
within the venues business 
vat claim
in september the upper tribunal ruled in 
favour of her majesty’s revenue  customs 
“hmrc” in hmrc’s appeal case relating to 
a vat repayment claim on the “spot the ball” 
game this followed the initial ruling last year 
of the firsttier tribunal in sportech’s favour 
the group has been granted permission 
to appeal to the court of appeal which 
will be held in the week commencing 
2 november 2015
outlook
racing and digital and football pools are 
trading in line with expectations trading in 
our venues business remains challenging 
with amounts wagered below prior year levels 
as a result of a lack of racing due to the cold 
weather in north east usa the group 
launched operations in its online gaming 
joint venture in february the board remains 
confident in the group’s prospects for the 
full year ahead
ian penrose
chief executive
4 march 2015 
the group is confident that it will be able 
to substantially mitigate the impact of this 
contract loss through cost saving and revenue 
generating actions
during the year the group strengthened 
its capability in online technology with the 
appointment of rich roberts to head its 
digital operations in the us including sng 
interactive and mywinnerscom rich has 
recruited an experienced team to drive 
progress in this important growth area 
2014 performance
turning to the performance of our three 
divisions our racing and digital business 
has shown ebitda growth following the 
investments made in technology and products 
over recent years the football pools has 
made further progress in modernisation of 
its systems and development of its customer 
offering and is moving towards stabilisation 
of direct channel revenues 
however venues profits fell in 2014 due to 
reduced wagering revenues combined with 
increased content costs and startup losses 
at bradley whilst disappointing the fall in 
connecticut revenues has been in line with 
us industrywide wagering handle and our 
venues have performed better than similar 
facilities in the north east of america 
core business growth investment future plans 
strategic  
priorities 
modernising core business 
to secure cash generation
 –stabilise football pools 
revenues from 2015 
 –increase group’s digital 
earning capabilities
using cash from stable core 
business for investment
 –drive value from exclusive 
licences in connecticut 
 –invest in innovation and 
new technologies
capitalise on opportunities 
as markets regulate
 –be first to market 
and capitalise on 
regulatory change
 –continuous leadership in 
technology enhancement
progress in 2014 –football pools modernisation 
including new web platform
 –new racing and digital 
contracts including totepool
 –opened venue in bradley 
connecticut
 –secured regulatory approvals 
for new venues in ct and ca
 –continually monitoring 
opportunities for slots in ct
 –foundations laid for igaming 
development in us
priorities for the future –stabilise football pools 
revenues and earnings
 –focus on improved margins 
via technology enhancement
 –finalise plans for stamford 
san diego and norco based 
on available capital resources
 –first entry into igaming with 
resorts in new jersey
 –lobbying in us 
states to position for 
regulatory change
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 05
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements sportech is the 
industry leader 
in pool betting 
operations and 
technology
in 2014 our racing and digital 
and football pools divisions made 
great strategic progress against 
objectives opportunities for 
expansion in our venues division 
also received regulatory approvals
strategic progress in 2014
 – new racing and digital  
contracts including betfredtotepool
 – new proprietary football pools website 
new product development and record 
digital acquisition
  13 
billion bets processed in 2014
priorities for 2015
 – stabilisation of the football pools
 – investment in technology to remain 
at forefront of the industry
 – expansion of venues business – 
opportunities in connecticut and 
california based on regulatory approvals
read more on how we are leading the way  
in racing and digital technology 
see pages 14 and 15
 le ad ing
06 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 the wa y
 le ad ing
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 07
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements we are capitalising 
on opportunities 
as north american 
markets regulate
sportech has a unique position in 
the us market and is well placed to 
capitalise on opportunities as global 
markets regulate
strategic progress in 2014
 – approval for stamford venue 
in connecticut
 – received regulatory approval  
for california venues
 – online joint venture with resorts in 
new jersey live in february 2015
 – acquisition of bump – first entry 
into the professional sports market
 28
licences in 28 states with 130 racetrack online 
wagering and casino customers across the us
opport unities
driving  
future
08 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 priorities for 2015
 – drive existing venues business 
 – successful launch of resorts jv creating 
a footprint in the us gaming market
 – stabilisation and modernisation of  
the football pools to drive future growth
 – slots opportunity in connecticut venues
read more on how we are driving future opportunities  
in our venues business 
see pages 16 and 17
opport unities
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 09
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements financial kpis
adjusted profit 
before tax  
£m
2012 149 
2013 145 
2014 144 
cash generated 
from operations 
£m
2012 266 
2013 244 
2014 204 
capital 
expenditure  
£m
2012 83 
2013 126 
2014 100 
nonfinancial kpis
co
2
 emissions
metric tonnes
2012 6655 
2013 6521 
2014 6202 
employees 
number of full 
time equivalents
2012 798 
2013 795 
2014 796 
kpis
measuring our performance
10 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 overview
group revenue from continuing operations 
was £62m lower than the prior year at 
£1041m 2013 £1103m ebitda from 
continuing operations fell by 8 to £240m 
2013 £260m growth in sportech racing 
and digital despite adverse foreign exchange 
“fx” impacts was offset by declines in 
football pools and sportech venues the latter 
also impacted by fx adjusted profit before 
tax was £144m 2013 £145m the ebitda 
shortfall and increased depreciation charge 
being offset by a lower share option expense 
and interest savings having held £93m of 
spot the ball vat repayment monies for five 
months an impairment of £281m has been 
recorded which reduces the carrying value of 
the football pools goodwill to £1195m loss 
after tax as a result was £213m 2013 profit 
£34m with basic loss per share of 104p 
2013 earnings 17p and adjusted earnings 
per share of 55p 2013 53p net debt at 
31 december 2014 was £638m 2013 £634m
an analysis of group revenue and ebitda 
performance by business segment is shown 
in the table overleaf
corporate costs
corporate costs of £39m 2013 £39m have 
been managed carefully and again remain 
in line with the prior year in addition we also 
have a noncash share option expense under 
ifrs 2 of £06m 2013 £15m reduced as a 
result of employees leaving the group and 
a revision of expected likely vesting 
depreciation amortisation 
and goodwill impairment
the group’s normal depreciation and 
amortisation charge increased in the period 
to £62m 2013 £57m principally due to the 
ongoing capital expenditure in our businesses 
in north america in addition the group 
incurred a noncash amortisation charge of 
£41m 2013 £72m on the intangible assets 
acquired with vernons in 2007 ebet in 2012 
and data tote in 2013 the vernons assets 
became fully amortised in june 2014 which 
resulted in the reduced charge in 2014 
compared to 2013 an impairment of £281m 
was recorded to reduce the carrying value 
of the football pools goodwill to £1195m 
this is as a result of revisions to the underlying 
cash flow assumptions to reflect the division 
achieving ongoing earnings stability 
financial review
how we have performed
the group refinanced its borrowings in 2014 
increasing its facility to £80m reducing its 
cost of borrowing and extending the term 
to august 2018 this also provided the 
group with increased flexibility and improved 
covenant terms 
 
summary
 –revenue fell £21m to £1041m on a constant currency basis 
 –group ebitda of £240m is a fall of £13m at constant currency 
 –sportech racing and digital ebitda was up 11 at constant currency
 –sportech venues ebitda was down 29 at constant currency
 –football pools ebitda was down 5
 –net debt at 31 december 2014 was £638m 2013 £634m 
 
 
capital expenditure analysis  
£m
  football pools modernisation  
programme 30
  technology enhancement in  
sportech racing and digital 28
  tote services contract renewals 14
 data centre upgrades 08
 bradley sports bar 04
  existing venue investment 03
  stamford preliminary work 02
 other 11
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 11
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements £05m a refinancing fee of £14m and fair 
value movement on ineffective interest rate 
hedges of £08m are classified as exceptional 
and are disclosed in net finance costs
net finance costs
the group has incurred net interest costs in 
the period of £28m 2013 £43m with the 
reduction being primarily due to the savings 
made from holding £93m in cash in relation to 
the vat repayment claim from the end of june 
to november 2014 in addition other finance 
income amounted to £03m 2013 £08m 
reflecting a refinancing fee of £14m offsetting 
the credit of fair value movement on interest 
rate swaps of £08m and foreign exchange 
gains on intercompany loans of £09m 
net bank debt
in may 2014 the group refinanced its banking 
facilities increasing the facility to £80m and 
extending the term to august 2018 whilst 
obtaining increased flexibility and improved 
covenant terms net bank debt has increased 
marginally in the year to £638m 2013 
£634m following investment in capital 
expenditure and joint ventures of £119m 
the group’s bank leverage ratio for covenant 
testing purposes net bank debtadjusted 
ebitda was 266x as at 31 december 2014 
31 december 2013 241x at 31 december 
2014 the leverage covenant was 300x  
net bank debtadjusted ebitda
capital expenditure
capital expenditure was £26m lower than 
the prior year at £100m 2013 £126m 
expenditure included continuing 
modernisation of football pools technology 
the customer database and online platform 
contract renewals in sportech racing and 
digital and completion of the bradley sports 
bar in sportech venues 
acquisitions and investment 
in joint ventures
during the year the group acquired bump 
5050 inc for £01m in cash consideration with 
a potential further contingent consideration 
of up to £55m in the event that the business 
meets challenging growth performance 
targets in the year ended 31 december 2016 
dan tanenbaum the 100 owner and 
chief executive of bump has remained 
revenue
2014
£m
2013
£m
racing and digital 345 337
venues 325 322
football pools 380 413
fx effect — 41
trading divisions 1050 1113
intersegment 
elimination 09 10
total 1041 1103
ebitda
2014
£m
2013
£m
racing and digital 81 73
venues 32 45
football pools 166 174
fx effect — 07
trading divisions 279 299
corporate costs 
and intersegment 
elimination 39 39
total 240 260
adjusted operating profit
2014
£m
2013
£m
racing and digital 46 45
venues 20 32
football pools 151 160
fx effect — 05
trading divisions 217 242
corporate costs 
and intersegment 
elimination 45 54
total 172 188
 2013 numbers are at “constant currency” translated 
using 2014 exchange rates
exceptional costs
the group has incurred exceptional 
administration costs of £23m 2013 £27m in 
the twelvemonth period these costs include 
restructuring and other costs of £14m 2013 
£13m costs in relation to the setup of our 
joint venture companies of £06m 2013 £nil 
compensation for loss of office of £nil 2013 
£03m costs in relation to the new jersey 
licence of £01m 2013 £03m transaction 
costs in relation to acquisitions of £01m 2013 
£02m and legal costs of £02m in connection 
with the “spot the ball” vat claim 2013 
financial review continued
12 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 dividend
no dividend is proposed the board will 
continue to assess when to commence the 
payment of a dividend in consideration 
of the group’s financial position business 
performance and future growth opportunities 
taxation
a tax charge for the period of £13m 2013 
£19m has been provided at the weighted 
average applicable tax rate for the group  
of 230 2013 268 the group has a net 
deferred tax asset of £08m 2013 £07m 
representing primarily foreign taxes withheld 
which can be utilised against future profits 
and deferred tax provided on unvested share 
options and on interest rate swap liabilities 
tax payments of £13m were made during the 
period 2013 £17m principally representing 
final payments for prior year tax liabilities and 
overseas tax deducted at source
shareholders’ funds
during the year 04m shares were issued 
to settle employee share options increasing 
issued share capital to 205220769
total shareholders’ equity and the group’s net 
assets have reduced by £199m to £1198m 
2013 £1397m
cliff baty
chief financial officer 
4 march 2015
in employment with the group and as such the 
expected contingent consideration payable is 
being accrued over the performance period in 
exceptional costs £01m has been accrued as 
at 31 december 2014 cash on balance sheet at 
the acquisition date was an overdraft of £01m
in december 2014 £07m was paid in deferred 
consideration for the 2012 acquisition of ebet 
online inc additional maximum potential 
consideration is due of £09m based on 
ebitda performance in the year ended 
31 december 2015
the group has invested £06m into its 
californian joint venture to commence the 
preliminary construction phase at the norco 
venue and has invested £02m in picklive usa 
and £09m in sportech nyx gaming both 
joint venture companies in addition the 
group continues to support the running costs 
of its indian joint venture at £02m per annum
vat claim
in september 2014 hmrc were successful 
in their appeal to the upper tribunal “ut” 
in respect of the “spot the ball” game vat 
repayment claim this followed the decision 
in the group’s favour by the firsttier tax 
tribunal “ftt” in march 2013 the claim is for 
approximately £96m including simple interest 
and the group has been granted permission 
to appeal to the court of appeal the appeal 
will be heard in the week commencing 
2 november 2015 
the group received £93m from hmrc in 
june 2014 in relation to this claim following 
the reversal of the ftt decision by the ut 
these funds were repaid to hmrc in 
november 2014
ebitda bridge 
£m
260
08
08
13
07
240
2013
football pools
sportech racing and digital
sportech venues
fx effect
2014
net debt bridge 
£m
634
36
240
30
13
37
28
100
638
2013
cash from operations
working capital
interest paid
tax paid
exceptional costs
acquisition and joint venture investment
capex
2014
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 13
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements operational overview
sportech racing and digital
overview
sportech racing and digital is the largest 
international provider of pool betting systems 
and services for a global customer base of 
licensed racing and betting operators both 
on and offtrack the division’s proprietary 
betting hardware and software product 
offerings range from agentoperated to 
selfservice and include apps that allow 
players to use their own smartphones or 
tablets to place bets known as digital link™ 
racing and digital also provide customised 
websites and telephone betting systems 
as well as the services that help customers 
manage these digital channels 
during the year the division agreed a tenyear 
contract to supply betfred’s totepool business 
with a comprehensive suite of its betting 
technology products including its mobile and 
online betting platform as well as the core 
quantum tote system this system will golive 
in 1h 2015 the agreement with betfred further 
highlights the quality of our offer following the 
2013 sales to danske spil the stateowned 
danish gaming operator and penn national 
the largest owner and operator of racetracks 
and betting facilities in the united states both 
these prior year sales have been successfully 
implemented during 2014
the division also agreed with hawthorne 
race course in illinois to supply its full suite 
of digital and landbased betting technologies 
including the digital link™ mobile product 
together with its next generation selfservice 
wagering terminal we were also pleased to 
have renewed our contract to operate nassau 
otb network following a tender process 
however we were disappointed to receive 
notice that we were not successful in renewing 
our contract to process all bets across the 
state of california our existing agreement in 
california will come to an end in october 2015 
resulting in the loss of a significant number of 
sportech staff together with the withdrawal 
of approximately 3500 betting terminals from 
the state plans to mitigate the ongoing impact 
of this loss from october 2015 are in progress
for the racing and digital division overall 
revenues have declined to £345m 2013 
£359m due primarily to foreign exchange 
within tote services and equipment sales on 
a constant currency basis revenues are £08m 
ahead of prior year there was a slight decline 
in us domestic revenues due to poor weather 
and a weak third quarter us industry data 
president – sportech racing and digital
andrew gaughan
revenue
£345m
ebitda
£81m
key financials
an analysis of revenue 
and ebitda from our 
sportech racing and 
digital division is set 
out as follows
2014
£m
2013
£m
t ote services 266 261
equipment sales 42 39
digital 37 37
fx impact — 22
total revenue 345 359
payroll 127 134
other costs 137 130
fx impact — 18
ebitda 81 77
  2013 numbers are at “constant currency” translated 
using 2014 exchange rates
14 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 shows that thoroughbred wagering handle 
declined 28 in 2014 versus 2013 offsetting 
this is another solid performance from our 
dominican republic customer as well as 
the full year of revenues from the data tote 
acquisition completed in september last year 
total equipment sales revenues in the period 
were £42m 2013 £39m constant currency 
basis including £17m in relation to the betfred 
system sale
ebitda for the division has increased by 
£04m to £81m 2013 £77m on a constant 
currency basis ebitda in tote services and 
equipment sales has increased by £02m 
driven by cost reductions in the us domestic 
business together with a full year contribution 
from data tote offset by reductions in puerto 
rico and germany 
within digital at constant currency revenues 
are in line with prior year ebitda is ahead of 
prior year at £12m 2013 £06m due to the 
recovery of a previously writtenoff bad debt 
together with specific cost actions including 
the closure of the san diego office
in february 2015 our joint venture with nyx 
gaming group sng interactive launched its 
online gaming platform in the new jersey 
market as a supplier to the atlantic citybased 
resorts casino hotel the group has invested 
£09m to date in the setup and operation of 
the joint venture
during the year the division acquired bump 
worldwide inc “bump” for £01m on 
completion and a contingent earnout 
payment based upon 2016 operating 
performance bump is a provider of electronic 
charitable raffles conducted instadia during 
professional sporting events known as “5050 
raffles” and its customers are the charitable 
foundations of us professional sports teams 
across the nhl nba nfl mls and nascar 
the business has significant growth potential 
and has recently announced new supply 
agreements with the montreal canadiens 
nhl and cleveland browns nfl
leading the way  
in pool betting technology
bestinclass technology 
platforms laying the 
foundations for future 
growth
technologies from sportech racing and 
digital will enable us to transform how 
we offer pools wagering in the uk and 
extend our services to new markets 
the technologies we’ve selected – 
quantum tote system g4 digital 
platform and digital link™ mobile – 
form a cohesive solution to help betfred 
totepool lead the way in technological 
innovation and racecourse service
philip siers chief commercial officer 
betfred group
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 15
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements operational overview
sportech venues
connecticut venues
in the state of connecticut sportech venues 
operates all betting on horseracing under an 
exclusive and in perpetuity licence for retail 
telephone and internet 
overall revenues have increased by £04m 
compared to prior year at constant currency 
driven by food and beverage sales betting 
revenues have declined 30 impacted by 
some severe weather at the start of 2014 
which caused a significant number of race 
cancellations together with a reduction in 
amounts wagered by certain vip customers 
internet revenues were £10m 2013 £04m 
following the launch of the mywinnerscom 
website in the year this site is the only legal 
betting website in connecticut although it 
currently faces considerable competition from 
other online operators who pay no state taxes 
the connecticut authorities have issued formal 
cease and desist letters to these operators
during 2014 food and beverage revenues 
increased by £13m due to the opening of 
bobby v’s sports bar and restaurant in 
bradley in february 2014 this facility has 
received positive customer feedback and is 
growing its local reputation as the best local 
destination to watch big sporting events 
startup losses of £03m were incurred in 
the year 
ebitda at constant currency has declined 
by £11m with £05m due to the reduced 
wagering £03m due to increase in content 
costs following an increase in rates charged by 
suppliers together with the £03m of startup 
losses at bobby v’s
we have received regulatory approval to build 
and open a flagship sports bar restaurant 
and betting venue in downtown stamford 
stamford has no existing betting venue and 
has a population of more than 120000 
including a thriving financial district detailed 
construction plans are being prepared with 
buildout to commence subject to the group’s 
available capital resources the group remains 
committed to development of this exciting 
new location
president – connecticut venues
ted taylor
revenue
£325m
ebitda
£32m
key financials
a detailed analysis of our 
sportech venues division 
is set out as follows
connecticut venues
2014
£m
2013
£m
revenue 270 267
tax 38 39
tracktote 
interface fees 76 75
margin 156 153
payroll 49 44
facility costs 35 35
other costs 42 33
fx impact — 03
connecticut ebitda 30 44
other ebitda 02 04
total venues ebitda 32 48
  2013 numbers are at “constant currency” translated 
using 2014 exchange rates
16 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 other venues
revenue for other venues was £55m 2013 
£56m with ebitda of £02m 2013 £04m 
comparatives at constant currency
the group has an agreement to develop up 
to ten new sports bar restaurant and betting 
venues across southern california under the 
brand name “striders” local approvals have 
been received at two locations in the town 
of norco and in the heart of downtown 
san diego with both being developed in 
partnership with local partner the silky sullivan 
group preliminary work at the norco site has 
been undertaken with full construction work 
at both developments planned to commence 
subject to the availability of finance
the group currently supplies betting services 
to eight locations in southern california 
amounts wagered at these locations grew 
58 following the opening of three additional 
facilities in the year generating total revenues 
of £04m 2013 £03m
in the netherlands we operate a number 
of otbs pointofsale terminals and online 
betting on horseracing all on an exclusive 
basis under a licence from the ministry of 
justice this licence has been extended until 
december 2016 and we continue to work 
closely with the government the regulator 
and the horseracing industry regarding the 
future regulatory plans netherlands revenues 
were £51m 2013 £53m with ebitda of 
£03m 2013 £02m comparatives at 
constant currency
leading the way  
in venue development
in 2014 we launched our 
flagship sports bar and 
wagering venue in bradley 
connecticut
bobby v’s restaurant and sports bar 
is a magnificent facility working with 
the team at sportech to turn this new 
concept in sports entertainment into 
a reality has truly been a pleasure i am 
proud to put my name on the front door 
of such an amazing facility and look 
forward to expanding my relationship 
with sportech
bobby valentine former professional 
baseball player manager and restaurant 
entrepreneur
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 17
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements operational overview
football pools
overview
the strategy of the football pools business 
is to stabilise then grow revenues through 
improved customer retention increased 
spend per head from core customers and 
recruitment of new players to direct debit 
and online channels as part of our ongoing 
modernisation project we have consolidated 
over 100000 customers onto our proprietary 
“turnstile” platform in october we integrated 
the nyx gaming platform into this platform 
and relaunched footballpoolscom this new 
site enables new customers and our direct 
channel customers to manage their accounts 
online facilitating crosssell opportunities to 
a wide range of pools and casino games 
revenues for the period were £380m 2013 
£431m the reduction driven primarily by 
a £21m decrease in the collector and overseas 
channels following the closure of a number 
of collector regions in the year together with 
forecast decline direct revenues showed 
continued resilience in the year at £270m 
2013 £275m and are expected to stabilise 
in the coming year classic pools average 
weekly customer spend has increased to 
£281 2013 £267 driven by additional games 
added in 2013 together with a reduction 
in discounted entries following the migration 
to the new turnstile platform ebitda fell 
by £08m to £166m 2013 £174m with cost 
efficiencies offset by increased marketing 
spend to drive player recruitment 
managing director – football pools
conleth byrne
revenue
£380m
ebitda
£166m
key financials
the key performance 
indicators of our football 
pools division are set out 
as follows
 2014 2013
revenue £m 380 413
ebitda £m 166 174
classic pools 
customer numbers  
‘000 286 324
weekly revenue per 
customer £ 281 267
18 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 leading the way  
in football pool betting
in 2014 we launched a new 
online platform and acquired 
record new customer numbers
the pools has been one of the world’s 
favourite gaming companies for over 
90 years it’s inspiring to be able to work 
with the football pools and provide 
a fully integrated offering for the uk 
market the football pools now have 
a great product with which to gain online 
market share in the uk
david flynn evp business development 
nyx gaming group
over 23000 new customers were recruited 
compared to 15000 in 2013 through a 
combination of online and telemarketing 
leading to a reduction in the rate of decline 
of overall players in december 2014 
classic pools had 240000 direct customers 
compared to 248000 customers in the prior 
year a net reduction of 8000 players which 
compares to a net reduction of 17000 players 
in 2013 with approximately half playing via 
direct debit
our new footballpoolscom website offers 
a wide range of innovative content including 
premier 10 jackpot 12 pools games together 
with matchxtra which offers fixedodds style 
betting opportunities on premier league 
and televised football matches this is 
complemented by a wide variety of slots 
including branded titles such as judge dredd 
together with fixed odds games such as 
lucky clover
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 19
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements the importance of measuring risk
our risk management approach is to look at risks arising from all areas of the 
business both through a topdown and bottomup approach the executive 
boards of the three main business units assess on an ongoing basis and formally 
update their businessspecific risk registers quarterly the board regularly reviews 
the risks associated with the group’s activities and strategy and formally reviews 
a group risk register annually in reviewing such risks the board ensures that 
appropriate systems and controls are in place to mitigate the occurrence and 
impact of such risks
risk registers identify the most significant risks to the business and rate each risk 
on an unmitigated basis first and then a mitigated basis following assessment of 
controls and processes in place to reduce the impact of the risk
the table shows the most significant risks to sportech plc as a group the potential 
impact of such risks and the mitigating activities the group carries out to reduce 
the likelihood and impact of such risks the movement in the level of the risk in the 
board’s opinion is also indicated
appropriate risk 
management aids 
effective decision 
making and helps to 
ensure the risks the 
business takes are 
adequately assessed 
and challenged
principal risks
effective risk management
risk description mitigating activities change
regulatory 
the group operates under a number 
of licences across worldwide 
jurisdictions including the uk and us 
the loss or inadvertent breach of any 
such licence could have a significant 
impact on the group’s ability to 
continue to trade within that and 
other jurisdictions and therefore on 
the group’s trading and results  
in addition such loss or inadvertent 
breach would potentially lead to the 
imposition of fines and penalties on 
the group and could lead to 
substantial legal costs in certain 
jurisdictions personal liability rules 
could lead to imprisonment of group 
personnel there would also be the 
threat of reputation damage 
hindering the expansion of the 
business into other jurisdictions
the group considers that its licences to operate around the world 
are a key asset to the business and as such looks to mitigate the 
inherent risk within this area as follows
 – the group employs a director of corporate affairs one of whose 
primary roles is to ensure compliance with the requirements of 
our licences worldwide
 – a key aspect of this is monitoring the territories from which 
business is accepted to ensure that the threat of legal action 
against the group is minimised and that territories presenting 
criminalterrorist money laundering risk are avoided
 – the group employs a group general counsel in the uk to aid 
compliance issues and also employs a general counsel within 
its key us subsidiary sportech inc
 – the group employs thirdparty specialist legal counsel as 
appropriate to ensure relationships with regulatory bodies are 
maintained at the highest level
 – regular updates and training are provided to those employees 
involved in areas of the business that have inherent regulatory 
risk policies and procedures are in place to which staff adhere 
and
 – where commercially realistic insurance policies are available 
they are purchased
 
level
the group continues 
to operate in the 
same jurisdictions 
and monitors the 
changing gaming 
environment 
there have been 
no detrimental 
changes during 
the period of note 
20 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 risk description mitigating activities change
operational  
– economy
a significant proportion of the 
group’s annual income is derived 
from consumerfacing activities and  
is thus subject to the impact of 
economic downturns any significant 
downturn in the economy could lead 
to a negative impact on the results of 
the group and its cash flows
management has taken and continues to take mitigating actions 
to protect the group from current and potential operational and 
commercial risks in respect of economic and currency downturn
 – operating cost bases within the key operational divisions are 
structured to offset potential declines in revenue
 – revenue channels have been and continue to be expanded in 
terms of both product and territory by the acquisition of a 
broader base of revenue streams for the group
 – where possible fixed income contracts in respect of sportech 
racing and digital have been entered into with our customers 
limiting downside risk and
 – management reviews performance against budget on a regular 
basis which would highlight the need to implement change
level
world economies 
in which the group 
operates continue to 
steadily recover from 
the recent economic 
downturns however 
the horseracing 
industry worldwide 
from which the group 
derives a significant 
proportion of its 
revenues has seen 
declining handle 
which has impacted 
financial performance
operational  
– technology
a significant proportion of the 
group’s annual income is dependent 
on technologyled products
management ensures that the risk posed by technology 
is mitigated where possible as follows
 – the group has two worldclass data centres established 
in its key trading jurisdictions which host the group’s key 
technology solutions
 – the group continues to invest heavily in upgrading its technology 
solutions to ensure compliance with best practice
 – group systems principally in the usa and in the netherlands  
are subject to annual thirdparty audit to provide assurances  
to our customers that our systems are robust and complete
 – where thirdparty software is utilised leading technology 
providers are chosen as suppliers of choice and
 – comprehensive disaster recovery procedures and infrastructure 
are in place and are regularly reviewed and tested insurance 
cover is obtained to mitigate the cost of business interruption
reducing
the group has 
continued to 
invest significantly 
during the period 
in upgrading 
technology thus 
continuing to 
reduce this risk
financial
the group has historically been 
relatively highly leveraged and 
dependent on the provision 
of debt financing
the group
 – has three principal lenders bank of scotland plc barclays bank 
plc and royal bank of scotland plc we maintain very close 
relationships with each finance lender
 – continues to be focused on cash generation to improve its 
financial position
 – maintains relationships with potential future finance partners  
and keeps abreast of changing credit market conditions and
 – monitors its performance against covenants on a regular basis
increasing
in the event that 
performance 
materially worsens 
from 2014 level the 
risk of breaching 
banking covenants 
will increase
health and safety
the group runs a number of venues 
offering parimutuel wagering 
principally in the state of connecticut 
usa and the netherlands these 
operations involve the handling of 
significant sums of cash in addition 
the venues are used by a high number 
of customers on a daily basis the 
group therefore has a significant 
health and safety risk in respect of 
both its employees and its customers
the group takes the following actions to ensure the health 
and safety of its employees and customers
 – suitably qualified health and safety managers are employed 
by the group to ensure compliance with group policies
 – security processes and procedures are in place to ensure excess 
cash is stored in timedelay safes and then removed from venues 
as soon as possible
 – appropriate insurance cover is maintained and
 – there is a continual investment programme to refresh 
and update venues health and safety requirements are 
addressed accordingly
level
there have been 
no changes in the 
group’s operations 
and thus no change 
in the level of the risk
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 21
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements corporate social 
responsibility report
operating responsibly
in 2014 the football pools worked closely with 
streetgames to enhance the lives of young 
people in disadvantaged areas and promote 
change for good in local communities across 
the uk former england player and current 
england under21 manager gareth southgate 
took a role as ambassador for the programme
environment
the group recognises its responsibility to 
achieve good environmental practice and 
continues to strive for improvement in its 
environmental impact the nature of its 
business results in the principal impact 
arising from energy and paper consumption 
wherever possible waste consumable 
materials are recycled or disposed of in a 
manner most suitable to reduce any impact 
on the natural environment the group’s 
business practices also encourage 
environmental good practice and the 
increasing use of technology to facilitate 
information data collection and dissemination 
has led to reduced demand for paper 
resources all employees are encouraged to 
participate in the implementation of this policy 
and suppliers of consumable products are 
encouraged to be environmentally friendly 
wherever practical
in compliance with the companies act 2006 
the group is reporting on greenhouse gas 
emissions see table opposite the group 
believes that the approach it has taken 
incorporating the use of relevant audited 
costs and data sourced from highly regarded 
public bodies is robust as well as providing 
a summary of the scope 1 and scope 2 co
2
 
emissions produced an intensity ratio using 
group revenue at constant currency is also 
included showing a reduction in intensity of 
61 over the base year 2012 performance 
employees
the board is acutely aware of the vital 
contribution of employees to the future 
success of the business it recognises the 
importance of providing employees with 
information on matters of concern to them 
enabling employees to improve their 
performance and make an active contribution 
to the achievement of the group’s business 
objectives this is accomplished through 
formal and informal briefings and meetings 
customers
the group’s divisions hold licences to 
permit the provision of businesstobusiness 
services for parimutuel betting on horse and 
greyhound racing in over 30 jurisdictions 
in the americas and europe licences for 
businesstoconsumer activity for the same 
products are held in connecticut and the 
netherlands and for a wider range of 
gambling products in the uk to ensure that 
the obligations placed on the group under 
these licences are adhered to the group 
employs a director of corporate affairs who  
is responsible for ensuring that the terms of  
all applicable regulations are met he works 
closely with the group general counsel and 
local legal counsel to ensure the group 
meets its policy of maintaining the highest 
standards of compliance and integrity the 
group also employs security and compliance 
staff whose primary role is to ensure that our 
customers are treated fairly that our 
advertising is compliant with advertising 
standards and codes that the young and 
vulnerable are prevented from accessing our 
products and that abuse and illegal behaviour 
are identified and stopped all gaming 
products are subject to age restrictions and 
age verification software is used by the group 
where appropriate
the group actively promotes gamcare 
to its customers and nearly £05m has been 
contributed to the responsible gambling 
trust gamcare’s major funder and its 
predecessor bodies over recent years the 
venues business in connecticut contributes 
over £01m annually to promote responsible 
gambling in the state
society
the group’s support for communities across 
the uk is virtually unparalleled since the 
mid1970s the football pools has contributed 
£13bn at today’s value to football sport 
the arts and charitable causes today the 
group helps to generate £05m annually 
for charitable use through its management 
and operation of society lotteries within its 
football pools business activities
in 2013 the football pools partnered 
charity streetgames in a twoyear funding 
arrangement worth £17m to create 
“streetgames football pools fives” 
22 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 working with sportech has allowed us to 
take a national programme of grassroots 
football to communities that need it most 
in just two years our partnership has 
reached over 28000 young people seen 
participation opportunities across the uk 
and taken disadvantaged young people 
from their doorstep to the national 
football centre
 jane ashworth ceo streetgames
employee representatives are consulted 
regularly on a wide range of matters affecting 
their interests the group’s investors in people 
accreditation reflects the progressive training 
and development programmes that are in 
place within the business
the group is committed to equality of 
opportunity and dignity at work for all 
irrespective of race colour creed ethnic 
or national origins gender marital status 
sexuality disability class or age it ensures 
that recruitment and promotion decisions 
are made solely on the basis of suitability 
for the job information on gender diversity 
is contained in the corporate governance 
report on page 34
in the uk it is the policy of the group to 
comply with the requirements of the disability 
and equality act 2010 in offering equality of 
opportunity to disabled persons applying for 
employment selection being made on the 
basis of the most suitable person for the job 
in respect of experience and qualifications 
training career development and promotion 
are offered to all employees on the basis of 
their merit and ability
every effort is made to continue to employ 
in the same or alternative employment and 
where necessary to retrain employees who 
become disabled during their employment 
with the group
the group proactively addresses health 
and safety management and we have a 
programme of risk identification management 
and improvement in place the board receives 
a report in respect of health and safety across 
all of its businesses at each board meeting
human rights
following a review the board considers that 
it is not necessary for the group to operate 
a specific human rights policy at present 
our policies operate within a framework to 
comply with relevant laws to behave in an 
ethical manner and to respect the human 
rights of our employees and other 
stakeholders in the business
on behalf of the board
cliff baty
director
4 march 2015
2014 2013 2012
co
2
 metric tonnes 6202 6521 6655
group revenues at constant currency £m 1041 1062 1049
intensity ratio 596 614 634
reduction  61 32 —
 
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 23
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements performance
our sportech racing and digital division 
has grown ebitda through delivery of a 
new system and software to danske spil 
the danish state monopoly together with 
the commencement of delivery of a new 
system for totepool a deal worth £90m 
in revenue over ten years sportech venues 
in connecticut had a difficult year as a result 
of the severe east coast weather and the 
loss of higher staking player revenues 
the amounts wagered across the entire us 
thoroughbred horseracing market declined 
by more than 25 over the year showing the 
tough operating environment faced by these 
businesses we opened a flagship sports bar 
and restaurant within our existing facility at 
bradley this venue has received excellent 
customer feedback and revenues and 
profitability is improving the football 
pools had a solid year continuing with 
its modernisation of systems successfully 
launching a new online platform and increasing 
the number of new customers following a 
revision to the underlying assumptions to 
reflect a stable earnings profile an impairment 
was applied to the football pools goodwill 
during the year
other strategic achievements included 
securing a contract with resorts casino in new 
jersey through our joint venture with nyx 
gaming group to supply the online casino 
platform and support services and securing 
approvals to build a betting venue restaurant 
and sports bar in stamford connecticut as 
well as two betting venues and sports bars 
in california the difficulty in obtaining such 
approvals should not be underestimated and 
as such the value of these assets to the group 
the board and executive management are 
focused on expanding our us footprint and 
maximising the potential opportunities
shareholder value
our task is to deliver value to our shareholders 
and we hold this goal in mind in all our 
deliberations our earnings have been 
impacted this year by factors i describe above 
but strategic progress has also been made 
towards achieving the company’s longterm 
goals which will deliver enhanced value to 
our shareholders 
as the board continues to implement its 
strategy of growing the group’s presence and 
opportunities in the us resources are being 
chairman’s statement
delivering value for our shareholders
dear shareholder
it has been an extremely busy year for 
the group we have faced many challenges 
which have impacted our annual results 
but have made progress towards our  
longterm strategic goals 
24 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 outlook
it has been a challenging year but looking 
ahead i believe the group can make 
significant progress towards achieving its 
longterm objectives during 2015 and i look 
forward to working with the board and 
executive team to deliver the valuable returns 
the opportunities present
corporate governance report
the following report is intended to outline 
the group’s corporate governance structure 
policies and procedures and inform 
shareholders of the activities of the board 
and its committees during the year to 
31 december 2014 i trust the report is 
informative and insightful for shareholders 
and demonstrates the board’s commitment to 
high standards of governance and i welcome 
any feedback or comment from shareholders 
or other stakeholders
our report to you on corporate governance 
explains how we approach and implement 
the principles of good governance across 
sportech and the level of importance we give 
to each area the effectiveness of our board 
is a key priority as we believe this to be 
fundamental in order to deliver on business 
objectives and ultimately to deliver shareholder 
value whilst operating in an ethical way 
our committees are structured to ensure 
the responsibilities of the board are carried 
out effectively and in line with best practice 
procedure detail on each committee and its 
responsibilities and duties carried out during 
the year under review can be found within 
this report
we will continue to strive for best practice 
governance we use our time together 
as a board and our communications with 
directors outside of formal meetings to 
address the core responsibilities of strategy 
review of financial and operational 
performance review of risk management 
and internal controls this ensures the 
composition of the board delivers an 
effective governing body for sportech
roger withers
nonexecutive chairman
4 march 2015
diverted to this goal as such no dividend is 
proposed for the year to 31 december 2014 
the board continues to assess the appropriate 
time to commence dividend payments
vat claim
it was disappointing that the upper tribunal 
upheld hmrc’s appeal in september 2014 
in relation to the £96m vat repayment claim 
regarding the spot the ball game following 
the firsttier tax tribunal finding in the 
group’s favour in march 2013 the group has 
now been granted permission to appeal to 
the court of appeal and the hearing will take 
place in november this year
governance
as chairman i am responsible for ensuring 
your board remains effective i work closely 
with ian penrose sportech’s chief executive 
to ensure your board provides the appropriate 
support and guidance to the executive team 
this annual report as a whole is considered 
by the board to be “fair balanced and 
understandable” as is required by the 
combined code
board and employees
rich roberts was appointed president 
sportech digital on 14 july 2014 after  
being with the group seven months as an 
independent nonexecutive director rich 
brings with him extremely valuable industry 
experience having been ceo of slingo inc 
the new jerseybased gaming and mobile 
social gaming business rich lives in new 
jersey and has many years’ experience 
developing businesses in the digital mobile 
social and igaming markets in the us in april 
2014 lorne weil stepped down from the 
board following three and a half years with 
the group lorne’s contribution to the board 
since the acquisition of the racing division 
of scientific games inc has been invaluable 
and i thank him for his support and insight 
ian hogg resigned from the board in 
september 2014 after four years as a board 
member i wish him well for the future and 
thank him for his contribution to the group 
sportech is a geographically diverse business 
which places significant demands upon 
executives and employees and the board 
would like to thank them for their continued 
dedication and commitment to the business
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 25
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements board of directors 
roger withers 72
nonexecutive chairman
date of appointment  
february 2011 
board committees n
roger was appointed chairman in february 
2011 roger has over 40 years’ experience 
in the leisure and gaming industries he was 
appointed as nonexecutive chairman of 
aim listed safecharge international group 
limited in march 2014 and has previously 
held a number of nonexecutive directorships 
including chairman of playtech ltd chairman 
of arena leisure plc and executive chairman 
of bass leisure south africa roger has also 
held senior management and board positions 
in market leading companies including 
ladbrokes bass blms and coral racing 
as well as directorships with a number of 
substantial privately held companies in the 
property technology publishing and 
exhibitions sectors
ian penrose 49
chief executive
date of appointment  
october 2005
ian was appointed chief executive 
in october 2005 and has led the turnaround 
of sportech from a declining and ukcentric 
business with very high levels of debt into 
one of the world’s leading pools and tote 
gaming companies he was previously chief 
executive of arena leisure plc whom he 
joined in 1998 shortly after the formation 
of the company and left in september 2005 
having built the uk’s largest horseracing 
and media group ian is also a trustee of 
the national football museum
cliff baty 44
chief financial officer
date of appointment  
may 2013
cliff was appointed to the board in may 2013 
joining from ladbrokes plc where he held 
a number of senior finance roles including 
finance director of its egaming and 
international businesses cliff was also a 
director of ladbrokes’ spanish retail betting 
joint venture since its inception in 2007 as 
well as ladbrokes’ businesses in italy south 
africa and asia cliff worked for ladbrokes 
for seven years and prior to that was group 
financial controller of hilton group plc 
he qualified as a chartered accountant 
with ernst  young where he worked for 
ten years
rich roberts 50
president sportech digital
date of appointment  
july 2014
rich was appointed as president of digital in 
july 2014 he has over 20 years of game and 
gaming experience across senior business 
development and clevel positions as chief 
executive officer of slingo inc from 2010 to 
2013 rich led the threeyear turnaround of 
the company to profitability and acquisition 
by real networks at real networks he was 
responsible for the slingo studio and global 
storefront businesses prior to that rich was 
vp chief revenue officer of playfirst inc 
and previously led hasbro interactiveatari 
into the digital game industry 
peter williams 61
senior independent  
nonexecutive director
date of appointment  
february 2011 
board committees r a n id
peter was appointed senior independent 
nonexecutive director in february 2011 
peter is chairman of boohoocom plc jaeger 
and mister spex an online retailer based in 
berlin he is also a nonexecutive director of 
rightmove plc and cineworld group plc and 
a trustee of the design council in the past he 
has also served on the boards of asos plc 
the emi group silverstone holdings limited 
blacks leisure group plc jjb sports plc 
gcap media plc and capital radio group plc 
in his executive career he was chief executive 
at alpha group plc and prior to that chief 
executive of selfridges plc where he also acted 
as chief financial officer for over ten years
david mckeith 63
independent nonexecutive director
date of appointment  
august 2011 
board committees r a n id
david was appointed to the board as 
an independent nonexecutive director in 
august 2011 and chairs the audit committee 
he has around 30 years’ experience as a 
chartered accountant and tax adviser in large 
professional firms latterly as office senior 
partner for pricewaterhousecoopers llp 
in manchester since 2008 he has developed 
a portfolio of nonexecutive roles he is 
chairman of the halle orchestra and of 
greater manchester chamber of commerce 
in july 2013 he was appointed as a non
executive director of norcros plc where 
he is senior independent director and 
audit committee chairman
r  remuneration committee
a  au d it c o m m it te e
n  n om i n a ti on c om m it te e
id independent directors committee
note 
red icon indicates chairman of committee
26 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 senior management
luisa wright
group general counsel 
and company secretary
conleth byrne
managing director
andrew gaughan
president
ted taylor
president – 
connecticut venues
mickey kalifa
corporate 
development director
carl lynn
finance director
bob mercer
finance director
phil balderamos
managing director – 
california venues
richard boardley
director of 
corporate affairs
nick mounteer
director of marketing 
and operations
louis skelton
vice president of 
technical services
james d birney
vice president of finance
nicola mccabe
group financial controller
kevan woodcock
director of technology
frank j chesky iii
executive vice president 
and general counsel
paul klomp
managing director – 
netherlands venues  
and online
sportech plc
the football 
pools
sportech racing 
and digital sportech venues
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 27
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements biographies of the board members appear on page 26 
these illustrate the wideranging business experience of 
board members which is essential to manage effectively 
a business of the size and complexity of sportech
the board considers peter williams and david mckeith to 
be independent directors in light of his previous roles as 
chairman of playtech limited from which he resigned on 
10 october 2013 although he was retained as an industry 
adviser through to september 2014 and his capacity as 
a retained adviser to scientific games corporation inc 
“sgc” a position that came to an end on 30 september 
2013 which were held upon his appointment as chairman 
of the board roger withers cannot be deemed to 
be independent
conflicts of interest
the board has a procedure in place to deal with a situation 
where a director has a conflict of interest as required by 
the companies act 2006 as part of this process the 
members of the board prepare a list of other positions 
held and all other conflict situations that may need 
authorising either in relation to the director concerned or 
his or her connected persons the board considers each 
director’s situation and decides whether to approve any 
conflict situations taking into consideration what is in the 
best interests of the company and whether the director’s 
ability to act in accordance with his or her wider duties is 
affected each director is required to notify the company 
secretary of any potential or actual conflict situations that 
will need to be authorised by the board authorisations 
given by the board are reviewed annually
the independent directors committee of the board has 
powers to deal with matters concerning the company and 
its major shareholders including in relation to areas where 
conflicts of interest might otherwise arise
compliance with the uk corporate 
governance code
sportech is committed to a high standard of corporate 
governance the financial reporting council published 
in 2012 a revised version of the uk corporate governance 
code the “code” which took effect for financial years 
beginning on or after 1 october 2012 as such sportech 
has complied throughout the financial year ended  
31 december 2014 with the provisions of the revised code 
a copy of the code is publicly available from wwwfrcorg
it is the policy of the board to manage the affairs 
of the company in accordance with the principles of 
the code so far as the board believes it is practical 
this report together with the remuneration report 
on pages 36 to 55 describes how the company has 
applied the main principles of corporate governance 
as set out in the code
board of directors
the board currently comprises the nonexecutive 
chairman three executive directors and two independent 
nonexecutive directors as follows
roger withers  nonexecutive chairman
ian penrose  chief executive
cliff baty  chief financial officer
rich roberts  president sportech digital
peter williams   senior independent nonexecutive 
director
david mckeith   independent nonexecutive director
on 28 april 2014 and 25 september 2014 lorne weil 
and ian hogg respectively resigned from the board
rich roberts was appointed to the board on 3 december 
2013 as an independent nonexecutive director and was 
subsequently appointed as an executive director on 
14 july 2014
corporate governance report
board composition
 chairman 17
  e x e c u t i v e d i re c t o r s 50
  i nde pe nde n t n o n  e x e c u t i v e  
directors 33
length of service 
 up to two years 2
 two to six years 3
 more than six years 1
28 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 the board has in place a number of key processes 
designed to ensure that management responsibilities 
are clear executive directors distribute relevant 
information and key financial reports to board members 
in advance of each meeting together with other materials 
required to facilitate proper consideration of business 
issues a schedule of reserved matters for the board has 
been established and communicated to the senior 
management teams
an executive committee chaired by the chief executive 
oversees the detailed operations of the business the 
executive board meets formally on a regular basis to 
update the group on ongoing corporate matters and to 
review the performance of each business segment and 
progress against key operational targets
the company maintains insurance cover in respect of legal 
action against its directors and independent professional 
advice may be taken by the directors as required at the 
company’s cost
board performance evaluation
the board is satisfied that each director continues to 
show the necessary commitment allocates sufficient 
time to discharge their duties and continues to be an 
effective member of the board due to their skills expertise 
and business acumen during the year roger withers 
was appointed as nonexecutive chairman of aim listed 
safecharge international group limited roger maintains 
attendance at sportech plc board and committee 
meetings and continues to have regular discussions 
with executive management and company stakeholders 
this additional commitment of the chairman with an 
external party is therefore not thought to impact his 
ability to effectively discharge his duties as chairman 
of sportech plc
fullscale board and committee review processes are 
performed annually towards the end of each financial 
year all board members are invited to complete an 
online selfassessment and evaluation of the effectiveness 
of the board amongst other things directors are asked 
for their views on company strategy key challenges for 
the business the mix of skills experience independence 
knowledge and diversity on the board including gender 
effectiveness of the board’s engagement with 
shareholders and how well the board operates the 
output of the confidential questionnaires completed 
in february 2015 was discussed with the board at the 
march 2015 board meeting the board found the 
performance of each director to be effective and 
concluded that the board provides the effective leadership 
and control required for a listed company the evaluation 
found the board committees were working well the board 
will continue to review its procedures its effectiveness and 
development in the financial year ahead
board responsibility
chairman
board of directors
divisional operating boards corporate business functions
board effectiveness
division of responsibilities information and 
professional development
the board of directors is responsible for the 
management of the business of the company and its 
longterm success it may exercise all the powers of the 
company subject to the provisions of relevant statutes 
and the company’s articles the articles for instance 
contain specific provisions and restrictions regarding  
the company’s power to borrow money a copy of  
the articles is available to view by request from the 
company secretary or from the company’s website 
wwwsportechplccominvestorsshareholder
informationmemorandumandarticlesofassociation
the board is also responsible for setting the company’s 
strategic objectives and managing the company’s 
resources to enable those objectives to be met
the division of responsibility between the chairman and 
the chief executive is clearly defined and has been agreed 
by the board the chairman is primarily responsible for 
the workings of the board and ensuring its effectiveness 
the chief executive is responsible for running the group’s 
business for implementing board strategy and policy 
and for shareholder communication the chairman also 
ensures that directors maintain the appropriate skills 
and knowledge to fulfil their responsibilities and that the 
company provides the necessary resources to directors 
to enable this to be achieved both by way of induction 
upon joining the board and thereafter by way of updates
luisa wright the company’s group general counsel and 
company secretary provides inhouse legal advice to the 
board and management during luisa’s maternity leave 
period in 2015 the board will engage and retain various 
advisers in order to continue to receive counsel where 
and when this is necessary in addition the company 
takes external legal advice where appropriate to ensure 
compliance with best practice as company secretary 
luisa wright also advises the chairman and the board 
on all governance matters 
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 29
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements board meetings
the board meets at least six times a year certain matters are considered at all board meetings including the chief 
executive’s report the latest available group consolidated accounts and chief financial officer’s report divisional 
reports and the strategic developments report directors unable to attend a board meeting receive all materials to 
be presented and can discuss any issue which may arise with the chairman or any executive director
attendance at scheduled meetings of the board and its committees in 2014
main 
board
audit 
committee
remuneration 
committee
nomination 
committee 
independent 
directors 
committee
number of meetings held in year 7 3 3 1 —
executive directors
ian penrose 7 — — — —
ian hogg resigned 25 september 2014 5 6 — — — —
cliff baty 7 — — — —
rich roberts appointed 14 july 2014 3 3 — — — —
nonexecutive directors
roger withers 7 — — 1 —
peter williams 7 3 3 1 —
rich roberts resigned 14 july 2014 4 4 1 1 1 1 — —
lorne weil resigned 28 april 2014 0 3 — — — —
david mckeith 7 3 3 1 —
the figures in brackets indicate the number of meetings held in the period in which the individual was a board member 
there are six scheduled board meetings for 2015
board committees
the committees of the board are the audit committee remuneration committee the nomination committee and the 
independent directors committee the terms of reference of the audit remuneration and nomination committees are 
available on request from the company secretary and are available on the corporate website wwwsportechplccom
investorscorporategovernance management ensures that the committees are provided with all the necessary 
resources to enable them to undertake their duties in an effective and efficient manner the company secretary or her 
delegate acts as secretary to the committees
david mckeith
david mckeith
peter williams
david mckeith peter williams
roger withers 
chairman
peter williams 
chairman
david mckeith 
chairman
board of directors
audit committee remuneration committee nomination committee
independent directors 
committee
peter williams 
chairman
corporate governance report continued
30 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014  –the quality and acceptability of accounting policies 
and practices
 –the clarity of the disclosures and compliance with 
financial reporting standards and relevant financial 
and governance reporting requirements
 –material areas in which significant judgements have been 
applied or there has been discussion with the external 
auditors and
 –any correspondence from regulators in relation to our 
financial reporting
during the year the committee received presentations 
from the finance directors of the racing and digital 
connecticut venues and football pools divisions on 
the control environment of their respective businesses 
the committee also considered internal reports from the 
chief financial officer and the group financial controller 
together with the external auditors report in their halfyear 
review and annual audit in reviewing the group’s financial 
reporting function
the primary areas of judgement considered by the 
committee in relation to the 2014 financial statements were
 –the assumptions underlying impairment testing of 
the group’s goodwill and intangible assets particularly 
in relation to the football pools goodwill sportech 
venues perpetual licence and ebet goodwill and  
acquired intangibles
 –revenue recognition for significant contracts and
 –the assessment and disclosure of the going 
concern concept
in order to be comfortable with the consistency fairness 
and accuracy of these financial statements the following 
was undertaken in relation to these key areas of 
judgement
 –detailed review and discussion of models used 
for impairment testing and forecasts for going 
concern reviews
 –detailed review of significant contracts
 –stressing of assumptions to understand impacts and
 –scenario analysis
chairman and financial expert
david mckeith
the audit committee
members
peter williams rich roberts from 27 january 2014 
to 14 july 2014
the audit committee of the board comprises the 
independent nonexecutive directors and is currently 
chaired by david mckeith who is considered to have 
recent relevant financial experience biographies of the 
members of the audit committee appear on page 26 
the committee is scheduled to meet at least three times 
a year the committee’s main responsibilities include 
reviewing the annual report and accounts and interim 
report including considering significant financial reporting 
issues and judgements that they contain the committee 
reviews and challenges where necessary the consistency 
and changes to accounting policies methods used to 
account for significant and unusual transactions whether 
the company has followed appropriate accounting 
standards and the clarity of disclosure in the company’s 
financial statements further to this the committee is 
delegated from the board the responsibility for review 
of the effectiveness of internal controls the company’s 
whistleblowing procedures and the need for an internal 
audit function as well as the scope extent and 
effectiveness of such a function the chief financial 
officer and other senior management are invited to 
attend the committee as appropriate
financial reporting
the primary role of the committee in relation to financial 
reporting is the review with both management and the 
external auditor of the appropriateness of the halfyear 
and annual financial statements concentrating on 
amongst other matters
 –consistency of the annual report as a whole and 
ensuring it presents a fair balanced and understandable 
picture of the company as well as providing shareholders 
with the information necessary to assess the company’s 
performance business model and strategy
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 31
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements during 2014 the group conducted a tender 
process for the us tax compliance work which 
pricewaterhousecoopers llp have carried out since 
the acquisition of the us businesses in october 2010 
a thorough process was carried out by the chief financial 
officer group financial controller and vice president of 
finance in connecticut which resulted in kpmg llp being 
appointed tax compliance advisors for the us businesses 
the committee was kept informed of the process and 
tender bids and approved the appointment following 
briefings from the chief financial officer
effectiveness
the effectiveness of the external audit process is 
dependent on appropriate audit risk identification 
and at the start of the audit cycle we receive from 
pricewaterhousecoopers llp a detailed audit plan “audit 
strategy memorandum” identifying their assessment of 
these key risks for 2014 the significant risks identified 
were in relation to asset impairment management 
override of controls and revenue recognition due to the 
inherent management judgement required in these areas
the committee has time with the external auditors 
without management present at each meeting to provide 
additional opportunity for open dialogue and feedback 
matters typically discussed include the auditors’ 
assessment of business risks and management activity 
thereon the transparency and openness of interactions 
with management confirmation that there has been no 
restriction in scope placed on them by management 
independence of their audit and how they have exercised 
professional scepticism the chairman of the audit 
committee also has regular discussions with the external 
audit partner outside the formal committee process
appointment and reappointment
the committee considers the reappointment of the 
external auditors including the rotation of the audit 
partner each year and also assesses their independence 
on an ongoing basis the external auditors are required 
to rotate the audit partner responsible for the group 
audit every five years the current lead audit partner 
nigel reynolds replaced martin heath during the 
financial year following martin’s tenure as lead audit 
partner of four years
pricewaterhousecoopers llp have been the company’s 
external auditors since 1998 although a competitive 
tender process was conducted in 2006 as part of the 
committee’s review of the objectivity and effectiveness of 
the audit process an assessment was made not to put the 
audit engagement out to tender in 2014 the committee 
will continue to assess the appropriate time at which an 
audit tender process should be conducted and continues 
to assess the effectiveness independence and value for 
money of pricewaterhousecoopers llp 
in testing assets for impairment the key assumptions 
underpinning their valueinuse are discount rates and 
growth rates applied to projected earnings these 
assumptions are inherently judgemental the committee 
considers those judgements in light of regular updates 
received on business plans and performance against 
targets in addition the committee considers findings 
of the work of the auditors in this area
external audit
the committee is responsible for the relationship with 
the external auditors the committee considers the nature 
and extent of nonaudit services provided by the auditors 
in order to seek to balance the maintenance of objectivity 
access to applicable technical expertise and value for 
money to help avoid the objectivity and independence 
of the external auditors becoming compromised the 
committee has a formal policy governing the engagement 
of the external auditor to provide nonaudit services 
this policy precludes pricewaterhousecoopers llp from 
providing certain services such as internal audit work or 
accounting services for all other services the chief 
financial officer must approve spend on discrete projects 
in excess of £10000 and secondary approval is required 
from the chairman of the audit committee for spend on 
projects that are estimated will exceed £50000 in fees 
the committee is regularly updated on the spend to 
date with the external auditors and also with other 
financial advisers
the auditors are also subject to professional standards 
that safeguard the integrity of their auditing role 
the committee remains confident that the objectivity 
and independence of the external auditors are not in 
any way impaired by reason of the audit and nonaudit 
services which they provide to the group moreover the 
committee is satisfied that such work is best handled 
by them either because of their knowledge of the 
group or because they have been awarded it through 
a competitive tendering process in addition the 
independence of the auditors is safeguarded by the 
use of separate teams for individual assignments such 
as acquisition due diligence and the audit being subject 
to internal pricewaterhousecoopers llp quality control 
procedures a breakdown of nonaudit fees charged by 
the auditors is disclosed in note 5 in the notes to the 
financial statements a significant proportion of the 
nonaudit fees charged by the auditors in 2014 relates to 
work undertaken in respect of ongoing issues in relation 
to indirect taxes advice on accounting and tax treatment 
of the spot the ball vat claim and other advisory 
services it was concluded by the committee that it was 
in the interest of the company to purchase these services 
on a single tender basis from pricewaterhousecoopers 
llp due to the cumulative historical knowledge already 
gained the timing of the work the tiein to the financial 
statements and confidentiality
corporate governance report continued
32 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 joint venture similarly as and when the operations of the 
group’s newly formed usbased joint ventures become 
material resources will be deployed to ensure integrity 
of results and that the group’s high standard of internal 
control is replicated
to manage lowerlevel risks a risk management 
programme is in place supported by a business 
control and risk selfassessment process and a business 
continuity plan the risk management programme places 
responsibility on managers to identify risks facing each 
business unit and for implementing procedures to mitigate 
these risks the risk appraisal process is regularly reviewed 
by the board and accords with the turnbull guidance 
the audit committee and board have reviewed the 
effectiveness of the internal controls of the group for 
the year ended 31 december 2014 and up to the date of 
approval of the annual report and accounts this review 
covered financial operational risk management and 
compliance controls
the group does not have an internal audit function 
the audit committee has considered the use of an internal 
audit function during the year but considers that due to 
the size and nature of the group there is not a requirement 
for such an internal function the central group finance 
function continues to undertake certain work of an internal 
audit nature and reports findings to the audit committee 
during the year the audit committee engaged grant 
thornton llp to perform a review over it security and 
controls at the group’s data centre in new jersey grant 
thornton llp reported their findings to the committee 
with no significant weaknesses identified the committee 
will continue to assess the need for specific internal audit 
reviews and an ongoing internal audit strategy during the 
coming months
whistleblowing policy
the company is committed to providing a safe and 
confidential avenue for all employees within the group to 
raise concerns about serious wrongdoings the company 
also acknowledges the requirements of the uk corporate 
governance code in this regard which states that the 
audit committee should review arrangements by which 
staff of the group may in confidence raise concerns about 
possible improprieties in matters of financial reporting or 
other matters further to this an appropriate policy so as 
to encourage and enable staff to raise any such concerns 
is in place and has been throughout the year no instances 
of serious wrongdoing have been reported to the audit 
committee during the period 
david mckeith
chairman of the audit committee 
4 march 2015
the audit committee provided the board with  
its recommendation to the shareholders on the 
reappointment of pricewaterhousecoopers llp as 
external auditors for the year ending 31 december 2015 
and as a result in accordance with section 489 of the 
companies act 2006 a resolution proposing the 
reappointment of pricewaterhousecoopers llp as  
our auditors will be put to the shareholders at the 2015 
agm there are no contractual obligations restricting  
the committee’s choice of external auditors and we do  
not indemnify our external auditors the committee will 
keep the appointment of the external auditors under 
annual review
internal control and internal audit
the board is responsible for the group’s system of 
internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness this 
responsibility has been delegated to the audit committee 
on this basis there is an ongoing process for identifying 
evaluating and managing significant risks faced by the 
group such a system is designed to manage rather than 
eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives 
and can only provide reasonable and not absolute 
assurance against material misstatement or loss controls 
are monitored by management review data consolidated 
into the group’s financial statements is reconciled to the 
underlying financial systems a review of the consolidated 
data is undertaken by management to ensure that the true 
position and results of the group are reflected through 
compliance with approved accounting policies and the 
appropriate accounting for nonroutine transactions
the group performs an annual strategy and budgeting 
process and the board approves the annual group 
budget as part of its normal responsibilities the group 
results are reported monthly to the board a quarterly 
forecasting regime is adhered to and revised forecasts 
are produced for the board whenever significant financial 
trends are identified in the periods between the 
quarterly assessments
the audit committee reviews the effectiveness of the 
internal control environment of the group excluding that 
of the group’s joint ventures it receives reports from the 
external auditors which include recommendations for 
improvement the audit committee’s role in this area is 
confined to a highlevel review of the arrangements for 
internal control significant risk issues are referred to the 
board for consideration risk registers are produced and 
maintained at a divisional level and the significant key risks 
relevant at a group level selected from these registers are 
presented to the board the principal risks facing the 
group and the mitigating actions taken by the board 
and management are included on pages 20 and 21 of 
the strategic report the group separately employs an 
indiabased accountant as a consultant who is responsible 
for ensuring the integrity of results and robustness of 
internal controls and procedures in the group’s indian 
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 33
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements the committee in its recommendations to the board 
acknowledges that diversity extends beyond the 
boardroom and supports management in their efforts 
to build a diverse organisation throughout the group 
out of a workforce of approximately 1000 employees 
42 are female and out of 15 members of senior 
management 13 are female the committee endorses 
the company’s policy to attract and develop a highly 
qualified and diverse workforce to ensure that all selection 
decisions are based on merit and that all recruitment 
activities are fair and nondiscriminatory although at 
present there are no female board members the 
committee acknowledges the importance of diversity 
including gender to the effective functioning of the 
board furthermore the board acknowledges the 
recommendations of the davies report and supports 
the principle of improving in particular gender imbalance 
both at a board level and throughout its businesses 
subject to securing suitable candidates when recruiting 
additional directors andor filling vacancies that arise 
when directors do not seek reelection we will seek to 
appoint new directors who fit the skills criteria and gender 
balance that is in line with the company’s policy we 
continue to focus on encouraging diversity of business 
skills and experience recognising that directors with 
diverse skill sets capabilities and experience gained from 
different geographic and cultural backgrounds enhance 
the board
the remuneration committee
the remuneration committee of the board comprised 
the three independent nonexecutive directors until 
the resignation of rich roberts on 14 july 2014 and his 
appointment as an executive director and is chaired 
by peter williams biographies of the members of 
the remuneration committee appear on page 26 
the purpose of the committee is to ensure that the 
remuneration of executive directors and senior 
executives together with their terms and conditions 
of employment is sufficient to recruit and retain 
individuals of the calibre required to ensure profitable 
growth of the business the remuneration report is set 
out on pages 36 to 55
the nomination committee
the nomination committee comprised the two 
independent nonexecutive directors and the chairman 
of the board who also chairs this committee biographies 
of the members of the nomination committee appear 
on page 26
the committee’s main objectives are to lead the 
process for any new appointments to the board whether 
executive or nonexecutive and make recommendations 
to the board in relation to the same evaluate the balance 
of skills knowledge and experience on the board consider 
any matters relating to the continuation in office of any 
director at any time review committee memberships 
and formulate plans for succession the nomination 
committee’s activities are underpinned by the principle 
that all appointments should be made on merit against 
objective criteria and with due regard to the benefits of 
diversity on the board accordingly the committee 
prepares a description of the role and capabilities 
required for a particular appointment
corporate governance report continued
34 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 the independent directors committee
the independent directors committee comprised 
the two independent nonexecutive directors and is 
responsible for dealing with matters where conflicts 
of interest might arise due to the board’s previous 
composition and shareholder representation the 
committee did not meet formally during the year and 
only meets when circumstances of conflicts of interest 
are considered to have arisen that require review
investor relations
there is regular dialogue with shareholders through 
a planned programme of investor relations which includes 
formal presentations of the group’s results by the chief 
executive and chief financial officer meetings also take 
place with institutional investors and analysts on a 
regular basis and there is regular communication with 
shareholders through the annual and interim reports 
and sportech’s corporate website wwwsportechplccom 
they are also available at other times outside close 
periods to enter into dialogue with these shareholders 
all shareholders have the opportunity to question the 
board at the agm both formally and informally the 
nonexecutive directors have taken steps to develop 
an understanding of the views of the major shareholders 
about the company through facetoface contact and 
analyst and broker briefings
all resolutions at the 2014 agm were voted by way of 
a manual poll this follows best practice and allows the 
company to count all votes rather than just those of 
shareholders attending the meeting as recommended 
by the code all resolutions were voted separately and the 
voting results which included all votes cast for against and 
those withheld together with all proxies lodged prior to 
the meeting were indicated at the meeting and the final 
results were released to the london stock exchange as 
soon as practicable after the meeting the announcement 
was also made available on the company’s corporate 
website as in previous years the proxy form and the 
announcement of the voting results made it clear that a 
‘vote withheld’ is not a vote in law and will not be counted 
in the calculation of the proportion of the votes for or 
against the resolution
the board recognises the withholding of votes to 
resolutions 2 and 5 at the 2014 agm approval of 
directors’ remuneration report and reappointment 
of roger withers respectively the relevant board 
committees continue to review the appropriateness 
of the group’s remuneration policy and board nominations 
taking into account feedback from shareholders 
as appropriate
the appointment of pricewaterhousecoopers llp 
as external auditors is also subject to regular review by 
the audit committee it is the belief of the committee 
as stated in the audit committee report that the 
effectiveness independence and value for money 
of pricewaterhousecoopers llp as external auditors 
remains appropriate
on behalf of the board
cliff baty
director 
4 march 2015
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 35
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements report of the remuneration committee
letter from the remuneration committee chairman
dear shareholder 
i am pleased to present the remuneration report  
the “report” for the year ended 31 december 2014
this report sets out the remuneration paid to directors 
over the year under review and details the remuneration 
policy for the forthcoming year 
the directors on the remuneration committee the 
“committee” are mindful of balancing the increased 
focus and guidance from stakeholders on remuneration 
issues with the need of the company to attract and retain 
the best available talent the committee is comfortable 
that in 2014 it achieved an appropriate balance in this 
regard more generally the committee believes that the 
policy outlined in this report continues to achieve its 
overriding objective of establishing a stable remuneration 
platform enabling the recruitment retention and 
motivation of a talented executive management team 
that is fully incentivised to maximise shareholder value 
and capable of taking the business forward through 
its next phase of strategic development 
in addition given that the package has a substantial 
weighting towards longterm performance the committee 
is comfortable that the current arrangements do not 
inadvertently encourage undue risk taking and that its 
policy motivates behaviours that are in the longterm 
interests of the company and its shareholders
in determining remuneration levels the committee has 
taken account of market conditions the performance 
of the company responsibility to shareholders and good 
corporate governance accordingly basic salaries of 
executive directors for 2015 have increased by 1 
with no increases taking place in the other elements 
of remuneration visàvis 2014
performance and reward in relation 
to 2014
as set out in detail in the strategic report the company 
delivered against a number of strategically important 
objectives during the year under review in its three 
divisions eg reaching agreement with betfred to provide 
new systems and digital technology to totepool and the 
launch of connecticut’s only legal online betting site and 
delivered ebitda of £240m as a result of the above 
bonuses of between 50 and 2125 of salary were 
achieved based on delivery against personal and strategic 
objectives with bonus of 0 of salary earned based on 
performance against ebitda targets overall bonuses 
earned were between 50 and 2125 of salary
twothirds of the performance share plan “psp” awards 
granted in 2011 were eligible to vest subject to two 
independent performance conditions the relative tsr 
performance condition had a performance period ending 
in december 2014 and vested at 0 the threeyear tsr 
to the end of the period of 35 resulted in the company 
being ranked below the median ranking position on a 
relative basis as a result there was no vesting of this part 
of the award the absolute tsr performance condition 
had a performance period ending december 2014 and 
the formulaic calculation of the highest tsr over the last 
year of the performance period would have resulted in 
full vesting of this element of the award however the 
committee was mindful of financial performance over 
the threeyear period and determined that the absolute 
tsr award vesting should be scaled back by 23 to reflect 
this the remaining onethird of the psp awards vested 
based on eps growth over the threeyear period ending 
31 december 2013 with this element of the awards vesting 
at 475 of the maximum based on eps growth of 945 
pa over three financial years
onethird of the psp awards granted in 2012 is eligible to 
vest subject to an earnings per share “eps” performance 
measure ending 31 december 2014 this part of the award 
will not meet the performance requirements given eps 
decline of 126 pa over the performance period the 
remaining twothirds of the 2012 awards vest based on 
relative and absolute tsr performance which will be 
measured over a threeyear period ending in march 2015
the committee has reviewed the variable incentive 
payouts based on the financial period ended 31 december 
2014 and is satisfied that having used its discretion to scale 
back the absolute tsr element of the psp award the 
overall reward reflects the performance delivered 
policy for 2015
the committee has reviewed the remuneration policy in 
line with the current business strategy and considers it to 
remain fit for purpose as such no material changes have 
been proposed for 2015 and beyond 
shareholder feedback
the committee has not proposed any significant changes 
to the remuneration policy for 2014 or 2015 that 
necessitated any direct consultations with shareholders 
during the year however the committee welcomes any 
feedback on this report and the remuneration policy in 
general and hopes for your continued support at the agm 
peter williams
senior independent nonexecutive director and 
chairman of the remuneration committee 
4 march 2015
36 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 remuneration report
for the year ended 31 december 2014
 –provide a total remuneration offering at “target” levels of 
performance that is competitive in the relevant market
 –incentivise performance beyond “target” levels 
to be achieved by offering a significant proportion 
of remuneration to be delivered through incentive 
related pay
 –create a strong alignment between the interests 
of senior management and the sustained delivery 
of shareholder value
 –take due accountfull consideration of the principles 
set out in the code
 –take due account of pay and employment conditions 
elsewhere in the group
 –provide the foundation for overall reward and 
remuneration structures at senior management levels 
and
 –provide an appropriate balance between non
performancerelated and performancerelated pay
the committee reviews the remuneration policy and 
in particular performance related pay scheme structures 
on an annual basis to ensure that they continue to 
operate within the agreed risk framework of the group 
the committee also ensures that an effective system of 
control and risk management is in place with regards to 
remuneration which includes access to the audit 
committee to discuss matters of operational and financial 
risk the committee is satisfied that the current policy 
does not encourage or reward for undue risk taking
the committee ensures that performancerelated 
pay structures will not raise environmental social or 
governance “esg” risks by inadvertently motivating 
irresponsible behaviour more generally with regard to 
the overall remuneration structure there is no restriction 
on the committee which prevents it from taking into 
account corporate governance on esg matters
the policy in relation to subsequent years will be 
kept under review to ensure that it reflects any 
changing circumstances
remuneration for executive directors
the main component parts of the remuneration packages 
for executive directors are detailed in the table on pages 
38 to 41 which should be read in conjunction with the 
recruitmentpromotion policy on page 44 and the 
“detailed remuneration policy for 2015” section of the 
annual report on remuneration which starts on page 46
this report has been prepared in accordance with 
the large and mediumsized companies and groups 
accounts  reports amendment regulations 2013  
the “regulations”
the directors’ remuneration policy report 2013 was 
subject to a binding shareholder vote at the 2014 agm 
with an effective date of 13 may 2014 with the intention 
being that the policy is applied for the threeyear period 
to 13 may 2017 it is represented in this report for 
information purposes only with some minor changes to 
page references updating references to formernew 
directors where necessary and the graph illustrating pay 
scenarios removed the full original report can be viewed 
at wwwsportechplccominvestorsresults2013 of the 
votes cast on approval of the directors’ remuneration 
policy at the 2014 agm 9943 were in favour of the 
policy less than 1 of the total votes available on this 
resolution were withheld the 2013 directors’ remuneration 
report was approved by 9863 of the votes cast with 
67 of the total votes available being withheld
the policy detailed in the 2013 report and repeated 
within this report has operated for the entire current 
financial year the annual report on remuneration will be 
subject to an advisory shareholder vote at the 2015 agm 
this report is intended to be in full compliance with the 
requirements of the regulations and the uk corporate 
governance code 2014 issued by the financial reporting 
council the “code” pricewaterhousecoopers llp has 
audited the contents of the report to the extent required 
by the regulations
directors’ remuneration policy
the committee’s key objectives are to i establish 
a competitive remuneration policy for the executive 
directors and ii align senior executives’ remuneration 
with the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders 
including customers and employees
in connection with this the committee aims to ensure that 
the remuneration packages offered to executive directors 
and senior executives
 –are competitive and attract retain and motivate 
executives of the right calibre
 –reflect their responsibility and experience within 
the business
 –incorporate a significant element of performancerelated 
pay linked to the achievement of challenging 
performance criteria that are aligned with the group’s 
strategy and increased shareholder value but remain 
appropriate given the group’s risk profile
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 37
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements remuneration report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
policy table
remuneration element and purpose operation opportunity performance metrics
base salary
to attract and retain key individuals
reflects the relevant skills and experience in role
 –salaries are set on 1 january each year and 
reviewed annually against performance experience 
responsibilities relevant market information and the 
level of workforce pay increases
 –the current salaries are set out in the annual report 
on remuneration on page 48
 –annual increases will usually be commensurate with 
those of the wider workforce
 –if there are significant changes in responsibility or 
a change in scope increases may exceed this level
 –new joiners where pay is initially set below market 
levels may experience larger increases as their salary 
is progressed towards the market rate based on their 
development in the role
a broadbased assessment of individual and company 
performance is considered as part of any salary review
pension
to provide costeffective yet market competitive 
retirement benefits
 –contribution to a personal pension arrangement or 
cash in lieu of pension by way of a salary supplement
 –8 of salary for uk executive directors only basic 
annual salary is pensionable
not applicable
benefits
to provide costeffective yet market competitive benefits
 –a car allowance for certain uk executive directors 
private health insurance and life insurance cover
 –the committee may offer executive directors other 
employee benefits on broadly similar terms to those 
of the wider workforce
 –car allowance of £16000 for the chief executive
 –family cover private health insurance
 –life insurance cover of four times salary
 –the value of insured benefits may vary from year to year 
based on the thirdparty costs of supplying the benefits
 –where executive directors are recruited from overseas 
benefits more tailored to their geographical location may 
be provided
not applicable
annual bonus plan
to motivate executive directors and incentivise the 
achievement of key financial and strategic goals and 
targets over the financial year
 –bonus is paid wholly in cash
 –based on the achievement of performance metrics 
with a sliding scale from a threshold to maximum level 
of performance
 –clawback may be applied in the event of material 
misconduct andor an error in the calculation of the 
bonus payable
 –maximum bonus potential is 100 of salary for the chief 
executive and 75 of salary for other directors the 
committee in its discretion acting fairly and reasonably 
may alter the bonus outcome upwards or downwards if 
it feels that the payout is inconsistent with the company’s 
overall performance and events taking place during the 
year along with any other factors it considers relevant 
the committee will consult with the company’s major 
shareholders before any exercise of its discretion to 
increase the bonus outcome and will explain the use 
of any such discretion in the relevant annual report 
on remuneration
the majority of the bonus will be based on financial 
measures such as ebitda targeted performance of the 
group and operating divisions as appropriate which 
takes into account market forecasts and a minority of the 
bonus will be based on group strategic objectives andor 
personal objectives tailored to the achievement of the 
group strategic goals
the proportion of the maximum bonus that may become 
payable at the threshold performance level where financial 
targets are set will be 0 of that part of the bonus 
bonuses above this level are earned on a graduated basis 
to the maximum performance level where strategic 
targets are set it is not always practicable to operate 
targets that can be assessed using a graduated scale
the performance measures used for the 2014 annual 
bonus and those proposed for 2015 are described in the 
annual report on remuneration starting on page 45
38 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 policy table
remuneration element and purpose operation opportunity performance metrics
base salary
to attract and retain key individuals
reflects the relevant skills and experience in role
 –salaries are set on 1 january each year and 
reviewed annually against performance experience 
responsibilities relevant market information and the 
level of workforce pay increases
 –the current salaries are set out in the annual report 
on remuneration on page 48
 –annual increases will usually be commensurate with 
those of the wider workforce
 –if there are significant changes in responsibility or 
a change in scope increases may exceed this level
 –new joiners where pay is initially set below market 
levels may experience larger increases as their salary 
is progressed towards the market rate based on their 
development in the role
a broadbased assessment of individual and company 
performance is considered as part of any salary review
pension
to provide costeffective yet market competitive 
retirement benefits
 –contribution to a personal pension arrangement or 
cash in lieu of pension by way of a salary supplement
 –8 of salary for uk executive directors only basic 
annual salary is pensionable
not applicable
benefits
to provide costeffective yet market competitive benefits
 –a car allowance for certain uk executive directors 
private health insurance and life insurance cover
 –the committee may offer executive directors other 
employee benefits on broadly similar terms to those 
of the wider workforce
 –car allowance of £16000 for the chief executive
 –family cover private health insurance
 –life insurance cover of four times salary
 –the value of insured benefits may vary from year to year 
based on the thirdparty costs of supplying the benefits
 –where executive directors are recruited from overseas 
benefits more tailored to their geographical location may 
be provided
not applicable
annual bonus plan
to motivate executive directors and incentivise the 
achievement of key financial and strategic goals and 
targets over the financial year
 –bonus is paid wholly in cash
 –based on the achievement of performance metrics 
with a sliding scale from a threshold to maximum level 
of performance
 –clawback may be applied in the event of material 
misconduct andor an error in the calculation of the 
bonus payable
 –maximum bonus potential is 100 of salary for the chief 
executive and 75 of salary for other directors the 
committee in its discretion acting fairly and reasonably 
may alter the bonus outcome upwards or downwards if 
it feels that the payout is inconsistent with the company’s 
overall performance and events taking place during the 
year along with any other factors it considers relevant 
the committee will consult with the company’s major 
shareholders before any exercise of its discretion to 
increase the bonus outcome and will explain the use 
of any such discretion in the relevant annual report 
on remuneration
the majority of the bonus will be based on financial 
measures such as ebitda targeted performance of the 
group and operating divisions as appropriate which 
takes into account market forecasts and a minority of the 
bonus will be based on group strategic objectives andor 
personal objectives tailored to the achievement of the 
group strategic goals
the proportion of the maximum bonus that may become 
payable at the threshold performance level where financial 
targets are set will be 0 of that part of the bonus 
bonuses above this level are earned on a graduated basis 
to the maximum performance level where strategic 
targets are set it is not always practicable to operate 
targets that can be assessed using a graduated scale
the performance measures used for the 2014 annual 
bonus and those proposed for 2015 are described in the 
annual report on remuneration starting on page 45
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 39
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements remuneration report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
remuneration element and purpose operation opportunity performance metrics
long term incentive plan
to motivate executive directors and incentivise delivery 
of performance over the long term
to encourage greater shareholder alignment by rewarding 
tsr outperformance
to facilitate share ownership
 –annual awards of performance share awards which vest 
subject to performance after three years
 –directors may be entitled to dividends which accrue on 
vested awards
 –performance share awards of up to 100 of salary can 
be granted for a normal annual grant with up to 200 
of salary used in exceptional circumstances
 –the policy is to grant awards of up to 100 of salary 
for directors
awards will be granted subject to a combination of relative 
tsr and financial measures such as eps over a three
year period
the committee will review the appropriateness of the 
performance conditions on an annual basis and may make 
changes to the weightings or introduce new measures 
which are aligned to the company strategy at that time
a minority 25 of the award will vest for threshold levels 
of performance rising on a straightline basis to full vesting 
for outperformance
the performance measures used for the 2014 psp award 
and those proposed for the 2015 psp award are described 
in the annual report on remuneration
all employee share plans
to promote wider employee share ownership
 –all employees including executive directors may be 
invited periodically to participate in a company 
sharesave plan
 –participants would have the right to commit to a savings 
contract whereby the proceeds can be used towards the 
exercise of an option granted at the time they participate 
the exercise price can be discounted by up to 20 of the 
share price on grant
 –monthly savings limits are based on hmrc rules which 
currently limit monthly savings towards share purchases 
under threeyear savings contracts to £500
not applicable
executive share ownership
to align executive directors’ and shareholders’ interests
 –all executive directors are expected to hold an 
investment of at least 100 of base salary in the 
company using 50 of net awards under the company’s 
ltips to achieve the shareholdings if required
 –100 of salary for all executive directors not applicable
nonexecutive fees
to attract and retain highcalibre nonexecutive directors
to set remuneration by reference to the 
responsibilities and time commitment undertaken  
by each nonexecutive director
 –fee levels are reviewed on a regular basis and are set 
based on expected time commitments responsibilities 
and in context of the fee levels in companies of a 
comparable size and complexity and reflecting the 
onerous obligations of international racing regimes
 –the nonexecutive chairman’s fee and nonexecutive 
fees are set out in the annual report on remuneration  
on page 48
 –any increase in fees may be above those of the wider 
workforce in percentage terms in any particular year 
reflecting the periodic nature of any review and changes 
to time commitments andor responsibilities
not applicable
40 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 remuneration element and purpose operation opportunity performance metrics
long term incentive plan
to motivate executive directors and incentivise delivery 
of performance over the long term
to encourage greater shareholder alignment by rewarding 
tsr outperformance
to facilitate share ownership
 –annual awards of performance share awards which vest 
subject to performance after three years
 –directors may be entitled to dividends which accrue on 
vested awards
 –performance share awards of up to 100 of salary can 
be granted for a normal annual grant with up to 200 
of salary used in exceptional circumstances
 –the policy is to grant awards of up to 100 of salary 
for directors
awards will be granted subject to a combination of relative 
tsr and financial measures such as eps over a three
year period
the committee will review the appropriateness of the 
performance conditions on an annual basis and may make 
changes to the weightings or introduce new measures 
which are aligned to the company strategy at that time
a minority 25 of the award will vest for threshold levels 
of performance rising on a straightline basis to full vesting 
for outperformance
the performance measures used for the 2014 psp award 
and those proposed for the 2015 psp award are described 
in the annual report on remuneration
all employee share plans
to promote wider employee share ownership
 –all employees including executive directors may be 
invited periodically to participate in a company 
sharesave plan
 –participants would have the right to commit to a savings 
contract whereby the proceeds can be used towards the 
exercise of an option granted at the time they participate 
the exercise price can be discounted by up to 20 of the 
share price on grant
 –monthly savings limits are based on hmrc rules which 
currently limit monthly savings towards share purchases 
under threeyear savings contracts to £500
not applicable
executive share ownership
to align executive directors’ and shareholders’ interests
 –all executive directors are expected to hold an 
investment of at least 100 of base salary in the 
company using 50 of net awards under the company’s 
ltips to achieve the shareholdings if required
 –100 of salary for all executive directors not applicable
nonexecutive fees
to attract and retain highcalibre nonexecutive directors
to set remuneration by reference to the 
responsibilities and time commitment undertaken  
by each nonexecutive director
 –fee levels are reviewed on a regular basis and are set 
based on expected time commitments responsibilities 
and in context of the fee levels in companies of a 
comparable size and complexity and reflecting the 
onerous obligations of international racing regimes
 –the nonexecutive chairman’s fee and nonexecutive 
fees are set out in the annual report on remuneration  
on page 48
 –any increase in fees may be above those of the wider 
workforce in percentage terms in any particular year 
reflecting the periodic nature of any review and changes 
to time commitments andor responsibilities
not applicable
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 41
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements policy on contracts of service
all directors have rolling contracts with notice periods 
of no more than twelve months
date of 
appointment
notice 
period
roger withers 070211 3 months
ian penrose 011005 12 months
cliff baty 140513 12 months
ian hogg 051010 12 months
rich roberts 140714 12 months
peter williams 070211 3 months
david mckeith 250811 3 months
lorne weil 051010 3 months
  ian hogg resigned on 24 september 2014 on this date he held 
285911 shares in the company 
  rich roberts had been appointed a nonexecutive director 
on 3 december 2013 and was subsequently appointed as an 
executive director on 14 july 2014
  lorne weil resigned on 28 april 2014 on this date he held 
3027450 shares in the company 
copies are available for inspection on request to the 
company secretary
it is the committee’s policy for the notice periods 
of executive directors to be twelve months or less
in the event of termination the committee’s policy 
is that payments on termination should reflect the 
specific circumstances prevailing in general it would 
be the committee’s policy to make a payment in lieu 
of notice where necessary limited to base salary and 
benefits to the extent that an individual might otherwise 
seek to bring a claim against the company in relation to 
the termination of their employment eg for breach of 
contract or unfair dismissal the committee retains the 
right to make an appropriate payment in settlement of 
such potential or actual claims payments in connection 
with any statutory entitlements eg in relation to 
redundancy may be made as required in connection with 
the foregoing the committee reserves the right to award 
to an executive director a bonus in respect of the period 
the committee operates the annual bonus plan and long 
term incentive plans according to their respective rules 
and consistent with normal market practice the listing 
rules and hmrc rules where relevant including flexibility 
in a number of regards these include
 –timing of awards and payments
 –the size of an award within the limits noted in the table 
on pages 38 to 41 and when and how much should vest
 –who receives an award or payment
 –dealing with a change of control or restructuring 
of the group
 –determining whether a participant is a goodbad leaver 
for incentive plan purposes and whether and what 
proportion of awards vest
 –any adjustments required to awards in certain 
circumstances eg rights issues corporate restructuring 
events and special dividends and
 –the weightings measures and targets for the annual 
bonus plan and ltip from year to year
the committee retains the discretion to adjust the targets 
andor set different measures and alter weightings for the 
annual bonus plan and to adjust targets for the ltip if 
events occur eg a major acquisition or disposal which 
cause it to determine that the conditions are unable to 
fulfil their original intended purpose and the change 
would not be materially less difficult to satisfy
variable remuneration
the maximum level of variable remuneration which may 
be granted to the executive directors based on salaries 
applying from 1 january 2015 is £1444000
existing awards
the committee intends to honour any commitments 
including outstanding psp awards on the terms 
applicable at the time each such commitment was 
made the relevant outstanding awards are described 
in more detail on pages 50 to 53
remuneration report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
42 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 other employees’ pay
the committee did not consult with employees directly 
on matters of executive remuneration however the 
committee is aware of the disconnect which can be 
created if executive director remuneration is set in 
isolation and therefore is updated during the year with 
details of the pay and employment conditions in the wider 
workforce in particular the committee is made aware of 
general salary increases general benefit provision and the 
proposed level of annual bonuses the committee is also 
responsible for reviewing the participants of the ltips and 
participation levels in the allemployee plans
base salary increases across the group were in the 
range of 1 to 2 for 2015 reflecting the rpi prevailing 
in the country in which the individual is employed the 
executive directors are employed in the uk and therefore 
their increase of 1 is consistent with the general pay 
award for ukbased employees
remuneration policy across the group
the remuneration policy described in this report is 
broadly consistent with the policy used for other senior 
executives of the company a significant proportion of 
remuneration remains performancerelated although 
lower quantums will operate
the majority of employees will participate in annual bonus 
schemes although the limits and performance metrics will 
vary according to the seniority and location of the role
participation in the ltips is targeted at senior 
management and key staff to align employees’ interests 
with those of shareholders
the majority of new employees are eligible to join 
a defined contribution pension plan
of the year in which notice of termination had not been 
served and in certain exceptional circumstances in 
respect of any period following receipt of notice of 
resignation that the individual remained in employment 
subject to the appropriate performance measures being 
achieved the determination of any share incentive vesting 
would be subject to the rules of the relevant plan but in 
general where an individual is a good leaver death injury 
or disability retirement redundancy transfer of business 
outside of the group and any other reason the committee 
decides their awards would vest on the cessation date 
unless the committee decides the award should continue 
to the original vesting date and remain subject to the 
appropriate performance measures being achieved  
and time pro rating unless the committee decides  
it is inappropriate to apply time pro rating
the committee would intend to apply the above policy 
for any new appointment which may include the ability 
to make phased payments with mitigation
the nonexecutive directors have letters of appointment 
which provide for notice by either party giving to the other 
not less than three months’ notice in writing the company 
may also terminate by making a payment in lieu of notice
none of the employment contracts of the directors 
contain special contractual termination provisions
policy on external appointments
sportech plc recognises that its directors are likely 
to be invited to become nonexecutive directors of 
other companies and that such exposure can broaden 
experience and knowledge which will benefit the 
company executive directors are therefore allowed to 
accept nonexecutive appointments and retain any fees 
earned with the board’s prior permission as long as these 
are not likely to lead to conflicts of interest in this regard 
ian penrose is a trustee of the national football museum 
a registered charity and he receives no remuneration in 
respect of this appointment
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 43
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements remuneration report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
policy on executive director recruitmentspromotions
in relation to an external executive recruitment or an internal promotion the committee will follow the principles outlined 
in the table below
element of remuneration policy
base salary salary levels will be set based on
 –the particular experience knowledge and skill of the individual
 –market rates for comparable positions in companies of a similar size and complexity and
 –internal company relativities
where considered appropriate the committee may wish to set the initial salary below the 
perceived market rate eg to reflect an individual’s limited experience at a plc board level 
but with the view to make phased increases potentially above those of the wider workforce as 
a percentage of salary to achieve the desired market positioning over time any increases would 
be subject to the individual’s continued development and performance in the role
benefits a new appointment would be offered the same benefits package or equivalent in line with local 
market practice as that provided to current executive directors
where considered necessary the committee may be required to pay certain relocation expenses 
legal fees and other costs incurred by the individual in relation to their appointment
pension a defined contribution or cash supplement or equivalent in line with local market practice at the 
level provided to current executive directors may be provided
annual bonus the committee would envisage the annual bonus for any new appointment operating as set out in 
the policy table for current executive directors the annual bonus maximum would be limited to 
that of the current chief executive
however the committee may consider it necessary depending on timing and the nature of the 
appointment to set different tailored performance measures for the initial bonus year
long term  
incentives
ongoing ltip awards will be made on the same terms as current executives albeit possibly with 
different performance periods depending on the timing of the appointment the maximum 
ongoing award will be no higher than that of the current chief executive an award may be made 
shortly after an appointment
for internal promotions existing awards will continue over their original vesting period and remain 
subject to their terms as at the date of grant
a new appointment would be eligible to participate in the sharesave plan under the same terms 
as all other employees
buyout awards to facilitate an external recruitment it may be necessary to buy out remuneration which would be 
forfeited on the appointee leaving their previous employer when determining the quantum and 
structure of any buyout awards the committee will where possible use a consistent basis taking 
into account the form of remuneration cash or shares timing horizons and the application of any 
performance criteria
buyout awards if used will be granted using the company’s existing share plans to the extent 
possible although awards may also be granted outside of these schemes if necessary and as 
permitted under the listing rules
44 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 shareholder engagement
the committee considers an open and constructive 
dialogue with investors to be vitally important to 
establishing a successful remuneration policy which 
is considered fair by both executives and shareholders 
therefore the committee will consult with major investors 
whenever material changes to the policy are proposed 
the committee also welcomes investor feedback and will 
consider views raised at the agm and regular meetings 
throughout the year when establishing the overall policy
annual report on remuneration
the committee’s terms of reference are available from 
the company secretary and can be found on the 
company’s website at wwwsportechplccominvestors
corporategovernance
the committee met three times during the year and 
the following key activities have been undertaken
 –review of best practice
 –approval and grant of annual awards under the psp 
in the year under review
 –review of the psp performance conditions and approval 
to retain both challenging financial growth conditions 
and total shareholder return “tsr” conditions
 –in march 2015 approval of bonus awards paid out in line 
with the 2014 bonus policy and approval of bonus policy 
for 2015
 –review of base salaries for the executive team 
 –approval of vesting of 2011 psp awards and
 –review and approval of terms of employment for 
rich roberts
the committee’s recommendations in 2014 and early 2015 
were all accepted and implemented by the board
compliance with best practice
during 2014 the committee has with the assistance of 
its independent remuneration consultants new bridge 
street “nbs” a trading name of aon plc reviewed its 
practices and policies to ensure they are in line with 
what it perceives to be best practice and the company’s 
strategic objectives the committee continues to be 
committed to the principles of good governance as set 
out in the code
composition of the remuneration committee
during the year the committee consisted of peter williams 
chairman david mckeith and until his appointment as an 
executive director on 14 july 2014 rich roberts peter and 
david are both independent nonexecutive directors 
none of the committee has any personal financial interest 
other than as a shareholder conflicts of interest from 
crossdirectorships or daytoday involvement in the 
running of the business
the chief executive and chairman are invited to attend 
meetings although neither is present when matters 
affecting his own remuneration are discussed the 
company secretary or their nominee acts as secretary 
to the committee
the committee retains independent remuneration 
consultants nbs to advise on aspects of executive 
remuneration nbs is a member of the remuneration 
consultants group and has signed up to its code of 
conduct nbs has no connection with sportech other 
than in the provision of advice on executive remuneration 
the terms of engagement with nbs are available from 
the company secretary on request the fees of the 
independent remuneration consultants in relation to the 
services provided by them to the company during the 
financial year were £35000
the committee reviews its relationships with external 
advisers on a regular basis and believes that no conflicts 
of interest exist
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 45
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements pension arrangements
the company will contribute into a defined contribution 
scheme for the executive directors at a rate of 8 
only basic annual salary is pensionable in addition the 
company matches the contribution into a 401k pension 
scheme for rich roberts being 6750 per annum
other benefits
executive directors are entitled to the following other 
main benefits
 –chief executive – 29 working days’ holiday per 
annum in addition to normal bank and public holidays 
other uk executive directors – 25 working days’ 
holiday per annum in addition to normal bank and 
public holidays usbased directors are entitled to 
20 working days’ holiday per annum in addition to 
normal us public holidays
 –a car allowance of £16000 for the chief executive
 –private health insurance for themselves their spouse 
and children and
 –life insurance of four times salary uk directors only
long term incentive plan “ltip”
the committee believes that share ownership and the 
granting of sharebased incentives strengthens the link 
between executives’ personal interests and those of the 
shareholders the company has two long term share plans 
in place being a share option scheme and a performance 
share plan “psp” the company’s policy has been to only 
grant awards under the psp since its adoption in 2007
it is the committee’s intention to grant awards in 2015 
at 100 of salary to the chief executive and 75 of salary 
to the other directors the targets to apply to the 2015 
awards will be the same as those applied to the 2014 
awards being 50 based on the company’s relative tsr 
performance part a and 50 based on performance 
against a challenging range of eps growth targets part b
the vesting of part a of each such award will be 
dependent on sportech’s tsr over a fixed threeyear 
period relative to the tsr of the constituents of the 
ftse small cap index excluding investment trusts 
over the same period the comparator group set as 
at the date of grant
detailed remuneration policy for 2015
basic annual salary
each executive director’s basic salary is reviewed 
and determined by the committee annually taking into 
account the individual’s performance and experience 
the committee also makes use of independent 
benchmark data provided by external remuneration 
consultants takes due account of market median data 
in separate comparator groups based on sector size and 
complexity and is aware of the level of salary increases 
awarded to other employees within the group
 –ian penrose chief executive was awarded a salary 
increase of 1 which is consistent with the general pay 
award for all ukbased employees he is paid a salary 
of £389000 per annum with effect from 1 january 2015
 –cliff baty chief financial officer is paid a salary of 
£247000 per annum with effect from 1 january 2015 
an increase of 1 which is consistent with the general 
pay award for all ukbased employees
 –rich roberts president sportech digital is paid a salary 
of 303000 per annum with effect from 1 january 2015 
an increase of 1 from the salary set on appointment
performance related bonus
the maximum bonus potential for the chief executive for 
2015 is 100 of basic salary for the chief financial officer 
75 of basic salary and for the president sportech digital 
is 50 of basic salary
for each executive director their performance related 
bonus is based on the ebitda performance of the group 
and operating divisions as appropriate delivering on 
group strategic objectives and meeting personal targets 
the ebitdabased proportion of the bonus which 
represents 70 of each director’s bonus entitlement is 
operated with a range set around a budgeted ebitda 
figure taking into account consensus forecasts strategic 
and personal objectives include continuing to develop our 
multiple business interests in connecticut and california 
rolling out our racing and digital footprint and developing 
the sportech team to take advantage of these new and 
innovative business opportunities further detail about 
such strategic and personal objectives is considered 
commercially sensitive and will therefore not be disclosed 
prospectively the committee will consider whether 
retrospective disclosure is appropriate this bonus is 
wholly payable in cash
remuneration report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
46 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 nonexecutive directors’ fees and incentives
the fees of the nonexecutive directors are set by the 
board following a review against fee levels operated in 
companies of a comparable size and after taking into 
account the anticipated time commitment of each role 
the nonexecutive directors do not participate in any 
incentive pension or benefit schemes of the company
the fees set for 1 january 2015 are £120000 for the 
chairman and a set fee of £47500 with a further £5000 
for each committee they sit on for ukbased non
executives and a set fee of 100000 for usbased 
nonexecutives the fees set for nonexecutives are 
at the top end of the upper quartile for comparable 
companies reflecting the onerous international regulatory 
environment for sportech and the fact that board 
meetings will be held in both the us and the uk 
necessitating additional travel and time commitments
details of each director’s remuneration for the year ended 
31 december 2014 are given in the table on page 48
directors’ remuneration for the year ended 
31 december 2014
basic annual salary
 –ian penrose chief executive £385000 per annum 
with effect from 1 january 2014
 –cliff baty chief financial officer £245000 per annum 
with effect from 1 january 2014
 –ian hogg chief operating officer consumer facing 
business £256000 per annum with effect from 
1 january 2014
 –rich roberts president sportech digital 300000 per 
annum with effect from the date of his appointment as 
an executive director 14 july 2014
no portion of part a will vest unless sportech’s tsr 
performance at least matches the median of the tsr 
performance within the comparator group thereafter 
the following vesting schedule will apply
the company’s tsr rank against the tsr  
of the comparator companies extent of vesting of part a
median 25
between median and upper quartile pro rata between 
25 and 100
upper quartile or better 100
the vesting of part b of each such award will be 
dependent on sportech’s eps performance over a fixed 
threeyear period no portion of part b will vest unless 
sportech’s eps growth is at least equal to the retail prices 
index “rpi” plus 4 per annum thereafter the following 
vesting schedule will apply
the company’s eps growth extent of vesting of part b
at least rpi  4 pa 25
between a minimum of rpi  4 pa 
and 10 pa
pro rata between 
25 and 100
at least rpi  10 pa 100
eps performance will be tested from a base year 
ended 31 december 2014 with eps being calculated 
on such adjusted basis as the remuneration committee 
determines appropriate adjusted eps for such purposes 
will be disclosed in due course at the time of vesting in 
the remuneration report
policy on executive share ownership
the board has adopted a formal policy in respect 
of executive share ownership pursuant to which all 
executives are expected to invest in the company to 
a level of at least 100 of annual salary over time save 
that under such policy executives may build to this level 
using 50 of net awards under the company’s long term 
incentive plans current share ownerships are set out 
on page 53
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 47
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements directors’ remuneration for 2014 audited
year of 
appointment
feessalary 
£000
taxable 
benefits
1
 
£000
pension 
£000
bonuses 
£000
long term 
incentives 
£000
2014 
total 
£000
executive directors
ian penrose 2005 385 17 31 82 158 673
cliff baty 2013 245 1 20 25 — 291
ian hogg 
resigned 25 september 2014
2
2010 256 14 20 14 32 336
rich roberts  
appointed 14 july 2014 2014 78 5 1 5 — 89
nonexecutive directors
roger withers 2011 120 — — — — 120
peter williams 2011 58 — — — — 58
david mckeith 2011 58 — — — — 58
lorne weil 
resigned 28 april 2014 2010 20 — — — — 20
rich roberts  
resigned 14 july 2014 2013 37 — — — — 37
aggregate emoluments 1257 37 72 126 190 1682
1 taxable benefits comprise various medical insurance policies and car allowances
2 ian hogg resigned from the board on 25 september 2014 however his full salary for the year to 31 december 2014 is included in the 
above table see section with regard to payments for loss of office in this report on page 53
directors’ remuneration for 2013 audited
year of 
appointment
feessalary 
£000
taxable 
benefits
1
 
£000
pension 
£000
bonuses 
£000
long term 
incentives 
£000
compensation 
for loss of 
office
£000
2013 
total 
£000
executive directors
ian penrose 2005 377 17 30 151 836 — 1411
cliff baty 2013 154 — 10 63 — — 227
ian hogg resigned 
25 september 2014 2010 251 14 20 40 497 — 822
steve cunliffe 
resigned 6 march 2013 2006 38 — — — 527 141 706
nonexecutive directors
roger withers 2011 65 — — — — — 65
peter williams 2011 45 — — — — — 45
david mckeith 2011 45 — — — — — 45
lorne weil resigned 
28 april 2014 2010 35 — — — 663 — 698
john barnes resigned 
3 december 2013 2005 45 — — — — — 45
mor weizer resigned 
20 june 2013
2
2011 — — — — — — —
rich roberts appointed  
3 december 2013 2013 5 — — — — — 5
aggregate emoluments 1060 31 60 254 2523 141 4069
1 taxable benefits comprise various medical insurance policies and car allowances
2 mor weizer did not receive any remuneration in his role as a nonexecutive director as he sat on the board as a representative 
of playtech limited
remuneration report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
48 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 performance related bonus
the maximum bonus potential for the chief executive in the year under review was 100 of basic salary and for 
each of the chief financial officer and the chief operating officer consumer facing business was 75 of basic salary 
for the president sportech digital the maximum bonus potential was 50 of basic salary
for each executive director their performance related bonus was based on i the ebitda performance of the group 
and ii strategic objectives aligned with group strategic goals 
ebitda performance
the committee considered the group’s ebitda performance for these purposes and in this respect achievement was 
determined to be 0 out of a maximum target of 70 of potential bonus
the actual targets set eg the numbers included in the group’s financial plans are considered to remain commercially 
sensitive and consideration will be given to disclosing these in future years
strategic objectives
with regards to the chief executive his strategic targets related to delivering against a number of growth focused 
initiatives primarily in relation to the group’s activities in the usa and delivering a successful contract win for the racing 
and digital division these were considered to have been largely met resulting in an award of 2125 out of a maximum 
target of 30 of potential bonus the strategic targets relating to the chief financial officer were in relation to securing 
financing to meet the group’s strategy plans supporting the achievement of wider group strategic objectives and 
implementing new system and process developments these targets were considered to have been partially met 
resulting in an award of 1375 out of a maximum target of 30 of potential bonus the strategic targets of the 
president sportech digital related to the connecticut online business the nyx joint venture plans in new jersey and 
progressing fantasy sports initiatives the targets relating to these objectives were considered to have been partially 
met resulting in an award of 1000 out of a maximum target of 30 of potential bonus the award was then reduced 
by 50 as the role commenced at the half year the strategic targets for the chief operating officer consumer facing 
business related to the connecticut online business and supporting the nyx joint venture plans the targets relating to 
these objectives were considered to have been partially met resulting in an award of 750 out of a maximum target of 
30 of potential bonus
the table below summarises the overall bonus result
individual total bonus  maximum  salary payable
chief executive 2125 of maximum 2125 of salary payable
chief financial officer 1375 of maximum 1031 of salary payable
president sportech digital 1000 of maximum 500 of salary payable
chief operating officer consumer facing business 750 of maximum 563 of salary payable
the committee is comfortable that the level of bonuses paid to executive directors reflects both the company and 
individual performance during the year
pension arrangements
the company contributed into a defined contribution scheme for the ukbased executive directors at a rate of 8 
only basic annual salary was pensionable three directors 2013 four directors were members of defined contribution 
schemes during the year contributions paid by the company in respect of these directors are as shown in the table 
on page 48 the company pays a maximum of 6750 per annum into a defined contribution scheme for rich roberts
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 49
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements long term incentive plans “ltips”
awards vested in relation to performance ending 2014
part of the awards granted in 2011 and 2012 reached the end of their performance periods or were substantially 
complete in the year under review this includes the twothirds of the 2011 award and 2012 award subject to relative 
tsr and absolute tsr performance period ended 1 december 2014 and onethird of the 2012 award subject to eps 
performance period ended 31 december 2014 summary details of the full conditions applying to the 2011 and 2012 
awards are included as a footnote to the psp table on page 52
in terms of the 2011 and 2012 award the assessment of the tsr measures was made independently by nbs who 
advised that sportech’s absolute tsr achieved a maximum tsr growth of 126 as measured during the final year of 
the performance period for the 2011 award and 83 for the 2012 award which was greater than the 15 pa maximum 
absolute target thereby indicating full vesting for this element of these awards in addition this element of the award is 
subject to the committee being satisfied that the level of vesting indicated is reflective of the company’s underlying 
financial performance over the performance period when considering this underpin the committee reviewed various 
financial performance metrics over the performance period and concluded that the 100 vesting result for this element 
of the award should be scaled back the committee considered that the vat claim had resulted in the underlying 
financial performance not being reflected in the share price prior to 16 september 2014 as a consequence the scale 
back reflected the highest six week average performance remaining in the period after 16 september 2014 as this was 
felt to be more reflective of the underlying financial performance of the company based on these deliberations the 
committee determined that this element of the 2011 award should be scaled back by 23 whilst the 2012 is scaled back 
by 33 the relative tsr performance measured to the end of the threeyear period was 35 for the 2011 award and 
33 for the 2012 award which resulted in the company being ranked below the median ranking position on a relative 
basis for both awards as a result there was no vesting of this part of the awards
in terms of the 2012 award the eps decline over the threeyear period to 31 december 2014 was 126 pa thereby 
triggering 0 vesting of this element of the award
in summary the total number of awards for each executive is shown in the table below
performance share plan – 2014 vesting
measure condition threshold maximum actual vesting
relative tsr 2011 tsr measured against the constituents 
of the ftse small cap index excluding 
investment trusts over the three years 
from date of grant
median 
rank 
77 
upper 
quartile 
rank 
3875 
tsr 
35 
rank 
961
0
absolute tsr 2011 average annual growth in tsr 6 pa 15 pa 126 100 
scaled back 
by committee
to 773
relative tsr 2012 tsr measured against the constituents 
of the ftse small cap index excluding 
investment trusts over the three years 
from date of grant
median 
rank 
755
upper 
quartile 
rank 
3275
tsr 
35 
rank 
857
0
absolute tsr 2012 average annual growth in tsr 6 pa 15 pa 83 100 
scaled back 
by committee
to 773
eps 2012 annualised adjusted eps growth measured 
against rpi over three financial years
rpi 
 4 pa 
rpi 
 10 pa 
126 0
executive award
number 
of awards 
granted vesting
number 
of shares 
vesting
value of 
awards
ian penrose 2011 part a and b 310272 386 119920 65716
2012 part c 250423 0 — —
ian hogg 2011 part a and b 150943 386 58340 31970
  for ian penrose and ian hogg as the 2011 awards have not yet vested due to the company being in a close period the value of the awards is 
based on the threemonth average share price to 31 december 2014 of 548p for 2012 awards which have yet to vest the value is also based 
on a threemonth average share price to 31 december 2014 of 548p
remuneration report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
50 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 ltip awards granted during 2014
share option scheme
a share option scheme is in place the details of which are described in note 25 the last award under such a scheme was 
made in 2005
performance share plan “psp”
the psp was introduced in 2007 under the rules of the psp awards may normally be granted up to 100 of salary 
other than in exceptional circumstances when they may be granted up to 200 of salary
the committee had previously approved the introduction of an annual award policy from 2012 at up to 100 of salary 
to executive directors
performance share plan – 2014 award
executive type of award
number 
of awards 
granted basis of award
share price 
on grant 
pence face value
percentage 
which vests 
at threshold
ian penrose performance share 432525 100 of salary 89 £384947 25
cliff baty performance share 206292 75 of salary 89 £183600 25
rich roberts performance share 349650 150 of salary 78 £272727 25
  this is based on the closing share price on the day before the date of grant in respect of ian penrose and cliff baty the date of grant was 
7 march 2014 and in respect of rich roberts the date of grant was 4 september 2014
   rich roberts was granted an exceptional award on his appointment as an executive director in part to reflect the lower bonus opportunity 
of 50 of salary
2014 awards – targets
in connection with the awards to the executive directors two distinct performance conditions apply each in relation 
to onehalf of each award
for ease of reference such halves are referred to below as part a and part b respectively
the vesting of part a of each such award will be dependent on sportech’s tsr over a fixed threeyear period relative 
to the tsr of the constituents of the ftse small cap index excluding investment trusts over the same period the 
comparator group set as at the date of grant
no portion of part a will vest unless sportech’s tsr performance at least matches the median of the tsr performance 
within the comparator group thereafter the following vesting schedule will apply
the company’s tsr rank against the tsr of the comparator companies extent of vesting of part a
median 25
between median and upper quartile pro rata between 25 and 100
upper quartile or better 100
the vesting of part b of each such award will be dependent on sportech’s eps performance over a fixed threeyear 
period no portion of part b will vest unless sportech’s eps growth is at least equal to the retail prices index “rpi” plus 
4 per annum thereafter the following vesting schedule will apply
the company’s eps growth extent of vesting of part b
at least rpi  4 pa 25
between a minimum of rpi  4 pa and 10 pa pro rata between 25 and 100
at least rpi  10 pa 100
eps performance will be tested from a base year ended 31 december 2013 with eps being calculated on such adjusted 
basis as the remuneration committee determines appropriate adjusted eps for such purposes will be disclosed in due 
course at the time of vesting in the remuneration report
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 51
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements directors’ sharebased incentives
aggregate emoluments disclosed on page 48 do not include any amounts for the value of sharebased incentives to 
acquire ordinary shares in the company granted to or held by the directors the sharebased incentives held by the 
directors are as follows
sportech share option scheme
as at 1 january and 
31 december 2014 
number
ian penrose 505050
details of the option are as follows
ian penrose
exercise 
price
date from 
which 
exercisable expiry date granted on
505050 £0817 270908 260915 270905
exercise of the option is subject to the share price reaching the following closing prices
shares closing price
151515 £1237
151515 £1732
101010 £2227
101010 £2722
505050
the market price of the ordinary shares at 31 december 2014 was £0670 and the range during the year was £0480 
to £0923
the options were granted at no cost to the director once awarded the exercise of the share options is unconditional
psp
the following table shows awards outstanding at the start of the year awarded vested and lapsed during the year and 
remaining outstanding at the end of the year
date of 
grant
as at 
1 january 
2014 
number
awarded 
during 
the year 
number
vested 
during 
the year 
number
lapsed 
during 
the year 
number
as at 
31 december 
2014 
number
vested 
but not 
exercised 
number
market price 
on date 
of grant 
pence
date 
from which 
exercisable
award 
expiry date
ian penrose 021211
1
465408 — 193610 271798 — 193610 3975 021214 021215
080312
1
751269 — — — 751269 — 5152 080315 080316
210313
2
377400 — — — 377400 — 10000 210316 210317
070314
2
— 432525 — — 432525 — 8900 070317 070318
total 1594077 432525 193610 271798 1561194 193610
cliff baty 210313
2
276000 — — — 276000 — 9000 210316 210317
070314
2
— 206292 — — 206292 — 8900 070317 070318
total 276000 206292 — — 482292 —
rich roberts 040914
2
— 349650 — — 349650 — 7800 040917 040918
ian hogg 021211
1
 226415 — 94189 132226 — 94189 3975 021214 021215
080312
1
374619 — — 374619 — — 5152 080315 080316
210313
2
188190 — — 188190 — — 10000 210316 210317
total 789224 — 94189 695035 — 94189
total psp 
awards 2659301 988467 287799 966833 2393136 287799
1  2011 and 2012 awards were subject to relative tsr absolute tsr and eps growth performance targets each applying to onethird of the 
awards the performance targets for the 2011 and 2012 awards operated under the same structure with the specific details outlined on  
pages 108 and 109
2  2013 and 2014 awards were subject to relative tsr and eps growth performance targets each applying to onehalf of the awards the 
structure for which is outlined on page 51
remuneration report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
52 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 the number of ordinary shares that may be issued under the psp and any other share plan may not exceed 10 in any 
tenyear period as at 31 december 2014 the company’s potential dilution was 42
recruitment terms
on 14 july 2014 rich roberts was appointed as president sportech digital his remuneration terms were set in 
accordance with the approved policy and included a salary set at 300000 benefits in line with those provided to other 
usbased employees a pension contribution of 6750 per annum a maximum bonus opportunity of 50 of salary and 
a performance shares award made shortly after appointment of 450000 being 150 of salary the performance 
share award made on appointment was above the ongoing policy to reflect that a lower than normal bonus opportunity 
ie 50 of salary rather than 75 of salary was set for rich roberts annual performance share awards from 2015 
onwards will be in line with other executive directors at a maximum of 75 of salary
payments for loss of office
ian hogg tendered his notice of resignation as coo international consumer facing division to the company on 
4 march 2014 and resigned from the sportech plc board on 25 september 2014 he was subject to a twelvemonth 
contractual notice period however by agreement with the company his employment terminated on 31 december 2014 
and he forgave any payment in lieu of the remainder of his notice period from 25 september 2014 to 31 december 2014 
ian hogg continued to receive his normal salary and contractual benefits he is eligible for a bonus in respect of the 2014 
financial year at 75 of his maximum entitlement of 75 of base salary being a total bonus payment of £14000 this is 
in line with treatments of “good leavers” and is partly compensatory for waiving his remaining contractual notice the 
bonus will be paid on the normal bonus payment date in 2015 longterm incentive awards granted in 2011 have where 
the relevant performance periods have completed vested at the normal vesting date awards granted in 2012 2013 and 
2014 lapsed in full at cessation no payments for loss of office have been made to ian hogg
payments to past directors
details of payments received by ian hogg in 2014 are as set out above such payments being included in the single 
total figure
steve cunliffe and brooks pierce were treated as good leavers under the rules of the psp following restructurings 
of the board which resulted in their roles effectively being made redundant as such subject to satisfaction of applicable 
performance criteria they retained each of their 2010 2011 and 2012 awards under the psp for brooks pro rated 
according to his termination date of 10 may 2012 and for steve 100 of the 2010 award and onethird of each of the 
2011 and 2012 awards further to this in early 2015 brooks received a total payment under the 2011 award of £6000 
and steve received a total payment under the 2011 award of £17000 no other payments were made in 2014 to 
past directors
director interests and shareholding guidelines
the following table shows director interests in the company
director
total 
shareholding 
at 
31 december 
2013
total 
shareholding 
at 
31 december 
2014
share 
option 
scheme 
vested
share 
option 
scheme 
unvested
psp 
award held 
unvested
psp 
award vested 
but not 
exercised
share 
ownership 
guideline 
expected to 
be achieved 
by third 
anniversary of 
employment
 of 
guideline 
met by 
31 december 
2014
ian penrose 500000 850000 151515 353535 1561194 193610 100 100
cliff baty — 33000 — — 482292 — 100 12
ian hogg 197140 285911 — — — — — —
rich roberts — — — — 349650 — 100 0
roger withers 112079 112079 — — — — na na
peter williams 100000 100000 — — — — na na
david mckeith 30000 30000 — — — — na na
lorne weil 2000000 3027450 — — — — na na
 ian hogg resigned on 25 september 2014 and the number of shares for 2014 are as at the date of resignation
 lorne weil resigned on 28 april 2014 and the number of shares for 2014 are as at the date of resignation
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 53
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements all executive directors are expected to hold an investment of at least 100 of base salary in company shares 
this requirement can be achieved over a period of time using 50 of net awards which vest under the company’s ltips 
the table on page 53 shows shareholdings as at 31 december 2014 and the percentage of the guideline currently met
total shareholding which counts towards the measurement of the guideline is calculated on the basis of legally owned 
shares plus vested psp awards the percentage of guideline met is based on the annual base salary and the higher of 
the acquisition cost of the total shareholding or the current market value of the total shareholding once an executive 
director meets the required holding the executive director is only required to purchase additional shares equivalent 
to the value of any increase in base salary
performance graph and chief executive sixyear pay chart
the following graph demonstrates the value of £100 invested in sportech plc as at 31 december 2008 compared 
with the same investment in a fund mirroring the makeup of the ftse small cap index
this graph shows the value by 31 december 2014 of £100 invested in sportech plc on 31 december 2008 compared 
with the value of £100 invested in the ftse small cap index the other points plotted are the values at intervening 
financial year ends
the ftse small cap index has been chosen as it is the index most closely aligned to sportech plc
the following table sets out the chief executive’s total remuneration for the current financial year and the preceding 
five years
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
remuneration before ltips £000 416 542 502 542 575 515
ltips £000 — — — 233 836 158
total remuneration £000 416 542 502 775 1411 673
annual bonus  33 74 50 25 40 2125
ltip vesting  — — — 620  827 297
remuneration report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
50
100
150
200
250
sportech ftse small cap
dec 08 dec 09 dec 10 dec 11 dec 12 dec 13 dec 14
54 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 percentage increase in the remuneration of the chief executive unaudited
2014 2013  change
chief executive £000
– salary 385 377 20
– bonus and benefits 99 168 411
average of group fulltime employee £000
– salary 72 63 143
– bonus and benefits 2 2 —
the table above shows the percentage movement in the salary benefits and annual bonus for the chief executive 
between the current and previous financial year compared to that for the average fulltime salaried employee
relative importance of spend on pay unaudited
2014 2013  change
staff costs £m 310 330 61
distributions to shareholders nil nil —
approval
this report was approved by the remuneration committee and signed on its behalf by
peter williams
senior independent nonexecutive director 
and chairman of the remuneration committee 
4 march 2015
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 55
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements directors’ report
for the year ended 31 december 2014
the directors present their report and the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 december 
2014 general information of the company can be found in the accounting policies on page 71
the strategic report and corporate governance report are set out on pages 2 to 35 this directors’ report does not 
include information on trading in the year or principal risks as this information is included in the strategic report instead 
under section 414c11 of the companies act 2006 on pages 20 and 21
directors and their interests  in the shares of the company
the directors who held office during the year and up to the date of signing these financial statements unless otherwise 
stated had beneficial interests in the share capital of the company as shown below
details of share options and performance share plan “psp” awards granted during the year ended 31 december 2014 
are set out in the remuneration report on pages 36 to 55
at 4 march 
2015 and 
31 december 
2014 
number
31 december 
2013 
number
roger withers 112079 112079
ian penrose 850000 500000
ian hogg resigned 25 september 2014 285911 197140
cliff baty 33000 —
peter williams 100000 100000
david mckeith 30000 30000
rich roberts — —
lorne weil resigned 28 april 2014 3027450 2000000
 shares held at date of resignation
directors’ thirdparty indemnity provisions
during the year qualifying indemnity insurance was provided to the directors such insurance remained in force 
throughout the year up to the date of signing the financial statements no claim was made under these provisions
employees
details of the company’s policy on equal opportunities for disabled employees and on employee involvement are set 
out in the ‘responsibilities towards employees’ section of the corporate social responsibility report on page 22
substantial shareholdings
4 march 2015 31 december 2014
holder
ordinary 
shares 
of 50p
 of 
issued share 
capital
ordinary 
shares 
of 50p
 of 
issued share 
capital
henderson global investments limited 57508224 2802 53643460 2614
newby manor limited 35593010 1734 35593010 1734
richard griffiths and controlled undertakings 14421350 703 14421350 703
axa sa 11150306 543 11150306 543
schroder investment management limited 11095332 541 11095332 541
aviva plc 10815102 527 10815102 527
total of substantial shareholdings 140583324 6850 136718560 6662
on 4 march 2015 interests representing 3 or more of the issued share capital of the company had been notified  
to the company as shown above
as at 31 december 2014 there are no restrictions on the transfer of securities in the company or on voting rights
56 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 dividend
no dividend is proposed 2013 £nil and no dividend has 
been paid during the year 2013 £nil
environmental matters
the corporate social responsibility report provides 
information with respect to the group’s impact on the 
environment and can be found on page 22 greenhouse 
gas emissions are monitored closely by management and 
disclosure of those emissions can be found in the strategic 
report on page 23
corporate governance
the group’s statement on corporate governance is set out 
on pages 28 to 35 and forms part of this directors’ report
significant agreements
there are a number of agreements that take effect alter 
or potentially terminate upon a change of control of the 
company following a takeover bid such as commercial 
contracts and employees’ share plans none of these are 
deemed to be individually significant in terms of their 
potential impact on the daytoday running of the business 
of the group as a whole other than as noted below
 –the main banking facilities with the three principal 
lenders bank of scotland plc barclays bank plc and 
royal bank of scotland plc have mandatory pre
payment provisions in respect of a change of control or 
trade sale with the facilities cancelled and all outstanding 
debt becoming immediately due and payable if a lender 
so requires and
 –the group operates under a number of licences in various 
territories awarded to it by regulatory bodies in the event 
of a change of control certain regulatory bodies retain 
the right to preapprove the acquirer in order for a 
change of control to be permitted
there are no clauses in any of the directors’ contracts that 
are triggered by a change of control of the company
takeover directive
the company has only one class of ordinary shares 
and these shares have equal voting rights the nature 
of individual director’s holdings and individually significant 
shareholders are disclosed on page 56 there are no 
restrictions on the transfer of shares following the 
end of the lockup agreement with scientific games 
corporation inc on 5 october 2013 as described in the 
prior year directors’ report
as part of the resolutions approved at the 2014 agm 
shareholders’ authority was given to the company’s 
directors for the allotment of up to 68303704 ordinary 
shares of 50p each if the authority is not utilised in 
connection with a rights issue representing 333 of 
the issued share capital of the company as at the date 
of the 2014 agm during the year the directors did not 
exercise the authorities given to them to allot shares 
as at 31 december 2014 the directors have the power 
to allot up to 136567410 ordinary shares of 50p each 
representing 667 of the issued share capital as at the 
date of the 2014 agm in connection with a rights issue 
subject to a reduction of any amount of shares issued in 
accordance with the preceding reference
certain of the company’s share incentive schemes contain 
provisions that permit awards or options to vest or 
become exercisable on a change of control in accordance 
with the rules of the schemes
going concern
the group has committed revolving credit banking 
facilities totalling £80m in place with bank of scotland plc 
barclays bank plc and royal bank of scotland plc until 
august 2018 the group’s forecasts and projections 
which have been prepared for the period to 30 june 2016 
and taking into account reasonably possible changes in 
performance show that the group will be able to operate 
within the level of its current facilities and comply with 
its banking covenants sensitivities were applied to the 
group’s forecasts which resulted in total for a reasonable 
downside scenario in a fall in ebitda assumed to directly 
affect net debt of 14 even at this level of performance 
the forecasts showed that the group would stay in 
compliance with its most sensitive covenant being 
leverage at all testing dates in the period under review 
the sensitivities applied included affects of changes to 
player acquisition assumptions in football pools handle 
levels in venues and system sales achieved in racing 
and digital
after making reasonable enquiries the directors have 
a reasonable expectation that the company and the 
group have adequate resources to continue in operational 
existence for the foreseeable future accordingly they 
continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing 
the financial statements
financial risk management
the group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial 
risks fair value and cash flow interest rate risk liquidity risk 
credit risk and foreign exchange risk where appropriate 
the group uses derivative financial instruments to hedge 
certain risk exposures the policy for each of the above 
risks is described in more detail in note 24
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 57
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements having taken advice from the audit committee the 
directors consider that the annual report taken as a 
whole is fair balanced and understandable and provides 
the information necessary for shareholders to assess the 
company’s performance business model and strategy
the directors are responsible for the maintenance and 
integrity of the company’s website legislation in the 
united kingdom governing the preparation and 
dissemination of financial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions 
directors’ statement pursuant to the 
disclosure and transparency rules
each of the directors whose names and functions are 
listed in the board of directors section on page 26 confirm 
that to the best of each person’s knowledge and belief
 –the financial statements prepared in accordance with 
ifrss as adopted by the european union give a true and 
fair view of the assets liabilities financial position and 
profit of the group and
 –the strategic report and other reports contained in the 
annual report include a fair review of the development 
and performance of the business and the position of the 
group and company together with a description of the 
principal risks and uncertainties that they face
annual general meeting “agm”
the notice convening the agm of the company on  
12 may 2015 is being sent to shareholders with this report
in accordance with the articles of association of the 
company ian penrose and david mckeith retire by rotation 
and offer themselves for reappointment at the agm 
profiles of these directors appear on page 26
resolutions will also be proposed at the agm to 
receive the accounts and the directors’ and independent 
auditors’ reports to approve the remuneration report set 
out on pages 36 to 55 to reappoint the auditors and to 
authorise the directors to fix their remuneration
on behalf of the board
cliff baty
director 
4 march 2015
disclosure of information to auditors
so far as each director is aware at the date of the approval 
of the financial statements there is no relevant audit 
information of which the company’s auditors are unaware 
each director has taken all the steps that they ought to 
have taken as a director in order to make themselves 
aware of any relevant audit information and to establish 
that the company’s auditors are aware of that information
the auditors pricewaterhousecoopers llp have 
indicated their willingness to continue in office and a 
resolution that they be reappointed will be proposed at 
the annual general meeting
statement of directors’ responsibilities
the directors are responsible for preparing the annual 
report and the financial statements in accordance with 
applicable law and regulations
company law requires the directors to prepare financial 
statements for each financial year under that law the 
directors have prepared the group and parent company 
the “company” financial statements in accordance with 
international financial reporting standards “ifrss” as 
adopted by the european union under company law the 
directors must not approve the financial statements unless 
they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the 
state of affairs of the group and the company and of the 
profit or loss of the group for that period in preparing 
these financial statements the directors are required to
 –select suitable accounting policies and then apply 
them consistently
 –make judgements and accounting estimates that are 
reasonable and prudent
 –state whether applicable ifrss as adopted by the 
european union have been followed subject to any 
material departures disclosed and explained in the 
financial statements and
 –prepare the financial statements on the going concern 
basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the group 
and the company will continue in business
the directors are responsible for keeping adequate 
accounting records that are sufficient to show and 
explain the company’s transactions and disclose with 
reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position 
of the company and the group and enable them to 
ensure that the financial statements and the remuneration 
report comply with the companies act 2006 and as 
regards the group financial statements article 4 of the 
ias regulation they are also responsible for safeguarding 
the assets of the company and the group and hence for 
taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection 
of fraud and other irregularities
directors’ report continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
58 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 independent auditors’ report
to the members of sportech plc
report on the financial statements
our opinion
in our opinion
 –sportech plc’s group financial statements and parent company financial statements the “financial statements” give 
a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 31 december 2014 and of the 
group’s loss and the group’s and the parent company’s cash flows for the year then ended
 –the group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with international financial reporting 
standards “ifrss” as adopted by the european union
 –the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with international financial 
reporting standards “ifrss” as adopted by the european union and as applied in accordance with the provisions 
of the companies act 2006 and
 –the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the companies act 2006 and 
as regards the group financial statements article 4 of the ias regulation
what we have audited
sportech plc’s financial statements comprise
 –the balance sheets as at 31 december 2014
 –the consolidated income statement and consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year then ended
 –the statements of changes in equity for the year then ended
 –the statements of cash flows for the year then ended and
 –the notes to the financial statements which include a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory 
information
certain required disclosures have been presented elsewhere in the annual report and accounts the “annual report” 
rather than in the notes to the financial statements these are crossreferenced from the financial statements and are 
identified as audited
the financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the financial statements is applicable law 
and ifrss as adopted by the european union and as regards the parent company financial statements as applied in 
accordance with the provisions of the companies act 2006
our audit approach
overview
areas of
focus
audit scope
materiality
overall group materiality £592000 which represents 25 of adjusted ebitda 
as de fined on page 63
the group consists of 39 statutory entities excluding dormant entities our audit 
focused on the most significant of these entities in terms of materiality to the group 
financial statements the components within the scope of our work accounted for 
79 of group revenue and 76 of group adjusted ebitda
 –goodwill and intangible asset impairment
 –revenue recognition on complex multiple element arrangements
 –going concern – financial covenants on banking facilities of the group
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 59
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements independent auditors’ report continued
to the members of sportech plc
the scope of our audit and our areas of focus
we conducted our audit in accordance with international standards on auditing uk and ireland “isas uk  ireland”
we designed our audit by determining materiality and assessing the risks of material misstatement in the financial 
statements in particular we looked at where the directors made subjective judgements for example in respect of 
significant accounting estimates that involved making assumptions and considering future events that are inherently 
uncertain as in all of our audits we also addressed the risk of management override of internal controls including 
evaluating whether there was evidence of bias by the directors that represented a risk of material misstatement due 
to fraud 
the risks of material misstatement that had the greatest effect on our audit including the allocation of our resources 
and effort are identified as “areas of focus” in the table below we have also set out how we tailored our audit to address 
these specific areas in order to provide an opinion on the financial statements as a whole and any comments we make 
on the results of our procedures should be read in this context this is not a complete list of all risks identified by 
our audit
area of focus how our audit addressed the area of focus
goodwill and intangible asset impairment 
refer to page 31 audit committee report page 76 
accounting policies and pages 88 to 91 notes
the group has goodwill and intangible fixed assets with 
carrying value of £1671m on the group balance sheet as 
at 31 december 2014 our work focused on the following 
balances where there was a higher level of judgement 
involved because of key assumptions made by the 
directors in assessing their carrying values
 –goodwill in relation to the football pools limited has 
a carrying value of £1195m following an impairment that 
has been recognised in the year of £281m see note 11 
in arriving at the remaining carrying value the directors 
have assumed that the business will arrest its prolonged 
declining profitability and that ebitda will stabilise and 
remain flat from the end of the next financial year 
onwards the directors believe this will be achieved 
through the stabilisation of revenue primarily as a result 
of the expected continued improvement in spend per 
player from core customers and the introduction of new 
online customers
we have focused on the directors’ assumptions 
regarding ebitda growth given the ongoing downturn 
in profitability
 –goodwill arising on the acquisition of ebet has a carrying 
value of £55m in assessing the carrying value of this 
asset the directors have assumed that there will be 3 
growth in profitability levels over the course of the next 
five years in spite of the fact that in the current year 
underlying profitability fell we therefore have focused on 
the directors’ assumptions regarding growth of profits
 –intangible assets associated with the gaming licence held 
within sportech venues inc “venues” have a carrying 
value of £163m
we evaluated and challenged the directors’ future 
cash flow forecasts and the process by which they 
were drawn up and tested the underlying value–inuse 
calculations we noted no material inconsistencies 
between the forecasts and our understanding of the 
board’s approved future plans for the business gained 
from other areas of our audit 
we performed the following to address the specific 
risks in each of the areas
in respect of the football pools limited goodwill we 
assessed the reasonableness of the directors’ estimate 
for future ebitda levels through comparison of forecast 
revenue against the run rate within the current year 
further we have performed a detailed assessment on 
the historical accuracy of the directors’ forecasts against 
actual outturn based on this work we found that the 
assumptions used within the forecasts appear within 
a range which we consider to be reasonable
in respect of the ebet goodwill we evaluated the key 
assumption of expected growth in profitability over 
the next five years this has been achieved through 
understanding and assessing the causes of the current 
year performance and critically assessing through 
comparison trends in their market the likelihood of a 
return to growth occurring in the future we found the 
assumptions used to be supportable based on our 
audit work
in respect of the venues gaming licence we evaluated 
the key assumptions surrounding the improvement 
in net handle at each venue in future years when 
compared with the current year by comparing the 
recent historic performance of the underlying trade 
prior to the current year and a critical assessment of 
the likelihood of the forecast increases in net handle 
occurring through reference to events in the current 
year management’s assumptions are supported by 
information currently available
60 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 area of focus how our audit addressed the area of focus
in assessing the carrying value of the venues licence 
the directors have assumed that the level of net handle 
the total amount of bets taken at each venue will 
improve by 35 on the current year and then remain at 
those levels into perpetuity such that forecast ebitda 
levels can be met we have focused on the directors’ 
assumptions around the growth of these levels in the next 
financial year and the feasibility of maintaining these levels 
in future periods
 –software development intangible assets in relation to 
the group’s indian joint venture have a carrying value 
of £05m the venture will not commence trading until 
a gaming licence is granted by the sikkim government 
to the group’s joint venture partner currently this licence 
is still pending and we have therefore focused on the 
directors’ assumption as to the likelihood that it will 
be granted
the directors’ projections in relation to impairment of 
goodwill and intangibles balances are also dependent on 
a range of other judgemental assumptions we focused on 
the discount rate in particular given the significant amount 
of judgement involved in establishing an appropriate rate 
and the material sensitivity of the carrying values to small 
changes in this assumption
the likelihood of the sikkim government approving the 
licence application is the key assumption in respect of the 
software development intangible asset our work noted that 
the level of successful applications to the sikkim government 
for licences by similar businesses did not contradict the 
directors’ assumptions regarding the likelihood of the 
group’s joint venture partner being granted its licence 
in addition we have evaluated the discount rate utilised 
within the above impairment reviews to assess whether it 
was appropriate this was done primarily via comparison 
of the cost of capital of the group with other comparable 
companies within the same industry or with a similar 
business model the discount rate used is supportable
while inherent uncertainty exists around many of the 
key assumptions used by the directors in the above 
impairment reviews our procedures indicated that the 
key assumptions were supportable and reasonable within 
the context of the evidence we obtained and we did not 
identify any material inconsistencies in the directors’ 
estimation technique and forecasting in these areas
furthermore we performed sensitivity analysis around 
all of the above assumptions to assess the extent of 
change in those assumptions that either individually 
or collectively would be required for the goodwill and 
intangibles to be impaired we determined that while 
the directors’ assumptions are not inappropriate 
reasonably possible changes in the key assumptions 
would be likely to lead to a material impairment and 
hence have determined that the directors’ disclosures 
see notes 11 and 12 appropriately reflected this fact and are 
consistent with the requirements of accounting standards
revenue recognition on complex multiple element 
arrangements
refer to page 31 audit committee report and page 73 
accounting policies
the group has entered into longterm sales contracts in 
relation to its tote software for which revenue accounting 
is complex because of the following
 –the contracts contain multiple elements and the 
allocation of consideration to the different elements 
involves significant judgement and complexity particularly 
when assessing the fair value of these elements and
 –revenue is recognised on a percentage of completion 
basis over the life of the contracts percentage of 
completion can be a complex judgement and can lead to 
revenue being recorded in the wrong accounting period 
we evaluated the directors’ allocation of total 
consideration between the different elements of the 
relevant contracts and challenged the fair value 
assessment of each element within the contracts through 
benchmarking the assigned fair values with other similar 
contracts agreed with third parties
we found that the directors’ assessments in respect of 
the tote software contracts were consistent with those 
in respect of other sales contracts 
we tested the appropriateness of the estimate of the 
percentage of completion on these contracts as at 
31 december 2014 through testing of costs incurred to 
date to purchase invoice and testing of forecast costs to 
complete to project managers’ schedules purchase orders 
and the use of look back tests on similar projects to obtain 
evidence over management’s forecasting ability
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 61
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements independent auditors’ report continued
to the members of sportech plc
area of focus how our audit addressed the area of focus
accordingly our audit work focused on
 –the directors’ fair value assessment of the consideration 
attributable to the separable elements within the 
contract and
 –the directors’ estimates for percentage of completion 
on such contracts as at 31 december 2014
based on our audit work we found that the directors’ 
recognition practices were in line with the requirements 
of ias 18 “revenue” in respect of both allocation of 
consideration to the respective elements and the 
percentage of completion revenue recognition estimate
going concern – financial covenants on banking 
facilities of the group
refer to page 31 audit committee report and page 71 
accounting policies
the directors have concluded that it is appropriate for 
them to prepare the financial statements using the going 
concern basis of accounting the going concern basis 
presumes that the group has adequate resources to 
remain in operation and that directors intend it to do so 
for at least one year from the date the financial statements 
were signed
in adopting this basis the directors have assumed that 
the group will continue to comply with a variety of 
financial and nonfinancial covenants over its £80m 
revolving credit banking facilities as at 31 december 2014 
a total of £701m was drawn down from these facilities 
which expire in august 2018
the financial covenants attached to the borrowings are 
leverage being the ratio of ebitda to net bank debt 
and interest cover being the ratio of ebitda to senior 
finance charges 
the directors monitor their cash flow and profit forecasts 
against these covenants regularly to assess the likelihood 
of a breach and establish mitigating actions should a 
potential breach be identified while the group’s forecasts 
and projections which have been prepared for the period 
to 30 june 2016 show that it will be able to operate within 
the level of its current facilities and comply with its banking 
covenants the level of headroom against those covenants 
when reasonable downside sensitivities are applied 
remains relatively low
as such we identified a heightened risk in this area 
and focused our work on the directors’ cash flow 
and profit forecasts in particular on the assumptions 
around projected ebitda net bank debt and senior 
finance charges
we evaluated the directors’ conclusion around going 
concern and critically assessed the group’s shortterm 
future cash flow forecasts to assess the likely availability 
of funds to meet liabilities as they fall due and its profit 
forecasts to assess the likelihood of a breach of covenants 
we obtained and read the group’s finance agreements 
to understand the financial and nonfinancial covenants 
contained therein and assess whether they had been 
considered in the directors’ forecasts 
we tested the mathematical accuracy of the forecasts 
and the process by which they were drawn up and agreed 
the covenant ratio calculations to the definitions in the 
finance agreements
where the directors’ cash flow assumptions were not 
consistent with current performance we challenged 
whether these differences were appropriate by comparing 
to growth rates seen in the current year and by assessing 
the historic accuracy of the directors’ forecasts against 
actual outturn we found that inconsistencies were 
supported by current growth trends and borne out 
by the directors’ history of forecasting
we challenged the directors on sensitivities applied 
to their forecasts to test the level of headroom against 
covenants by applying our own further sensitivities and 
discussing the impact of alternative assumptions 
we also assessed the mitigating actions proposed by 
the directors should it appear that the group may breach 
its covenants and found them to be reasonable
finally we compared the relevant disclosures with the 
financial statements to our testing in this area and found 
that they appropriately reflected the future plans of the 
company and group and any uncertainties arising 
our conclusions in relation to going concern are set out 
in the going concern section on page 63
62 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 how we tailored the audit scope
we tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the 
financial statements as a whole taking into account the structure of the group the accounting processes and controls 
and the industry in which the group operates 
the group is managed divisionally with the three operating divisions being racing and digital venues and football 
pools with the head office function incurring certain central costs on behalf of the group the group’s accounting 
process is structured around a local finance function in each of these divisions these functions maintain their own 
localised accounting records and controls distinct from those at the head office level 
while the directors operate the group divisionally we have scoped our audit at a statutory entity level we performed 
full scope audits over four statutory entities which we regarded as being financially significant components of the 
group and performed work in another six statutory entities on specific balances that we regarded to be significant to 
the financial statements we have performed sufficient testing over divisional and head office finance functions to obtain 
evidence over the components in scope for our group audit furthermore we have performed procedures over the 
group’s consolidation of these entities and significant consolidation entries 
the entities specific balances and entries that were subject to audit work accounted for 79 of group revenue and 76 
of group adjusted ebitda 
materiality
the scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality we set certain quantitative thresholds for 
materiality these together with qualitative considerations helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature 
timing and extent of our audit procedures and to evaluate the effect of misstatements both individually and on the 
financial statements as a whole 
based on our professional judgement we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows
overall group materiality £592000 2013 £650000
how we determined it 25 of adjusted ebitda as defined below
rationale for benchmark applied we believe that earnings before interest tax depreciation 
and amortisation adjusted also for exceptional items 
goodwill impairment and share option charges “adjusted 
ebitda” provides us with a consistent year on year basis 
for determining materiality based on the underlying trading 
performance of the group but eliminating oneoff non
recurring and noncash items
we agreed with the audit committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above 
£30000 2013 £30000 as well as misstatements below that amount that in our view warranted reporting for 
qualitative reasons
going concern
under the listing rules we are required to review the directors’ statement set out on page 57 in relation to going 
concern we have nothing to report having performed our review
as noted in the directors’ statement the directors have concluded that it is appropriate to prepare the financial 
statements using the going concern basis of accounting the going concern basis presumes that the group and parent 
company have adequate resources to remain in operation and that the directors intend them to do so for at least one 
year from the date the financial statements were signed as part of our audit we have concluded that the directors’ use 
of the going concern basis is appropriate
however because not all future events or conditions can be predicted these statements are not a guarantee as to the 
group’s and parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 63
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements other required reporting
consistency of other information
companies act 2006 opinion
in our opinion the information given in the strategic report and the directors’ report for the financial year for which the 
financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements
isas uk  ireland reporting
under isas uk  ireland we are required to report to you if in our opinion
information in the annual report is
 –materially inconsistent with the information in the audited financial statements or
 –apparently materially incorrect based on or materially inconsistent with our 
knowledge of the group and parent company acquired in the course of performing 
our audit or
 –otherwise misleading
we have no exceptions to report 
arising from this responsibility
the statement given by the directors on page 58 in accordance with provision c11 
of the uk corporate governance code the “code” that they consider the annual 
report taken as a whole to be fair balanced and understandable and provides the 
information necessary for members to assess the group’s and parent company’s 
performance business model and strategy is materially inconsistent with our 
knowledge of the group and parent company acquired in the course of performing 
our audit
we have no exceptions to report 
arising from this responsibility
the section of the annual report on page 31 as required by provision c38 of the 
code describing the work of the audit committee does not appropriately address 
matters communicated by us to the audit committee
we have no exceptions to report 
arising from this responsibility
adequacy of accounting records and information and explanations received
under the companies act 2006 we are required to report to you if in our opinion
 –we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit or
 –adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company or returns adequate for our audit have not 
been received from branches not visited by us or
 –the parent company financial statements and the part of the remuneration report to be audited are not in agreement 
with the accounting records and returns
we have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility
directors’ remuneration
directors’ remuneration report – companies act 2006 opinion
in our opinion the part of the directors’ remuneration report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance 
with the companies act 2006
other companies act 2006 reporting
under the companies act 2006 we are required to report to you if in our opinion certain disclosures of directors’ 
remuneration specified by law are not made we have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility 
corporate governance statement
under the listing rules we are required to review the part of the corporate governance report relating to the parent 
company’s compliance with ten provisions of the uk corporate governance code we have nothing to report having 
performed our review 
independent auditors’ report continued
to the members of sportech plc
64 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 notes
a the maintenance and integrity of the sportech plc website is the responsibility of the directors the work carried out by the auditors 
does not involve consideration of these matters and accordingly the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have 
occurred to the financial statements since they were initially presented on the website
b legislation in the united kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation 
in other jurisdictions
responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
our responsibilities and those of the directors
as explained more fully in the statement of directors’ responsibilities set out on page 58 the directors are responsible 
for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view
our responsibility is to audit and express an opinion on the financial statements in accordance with applicable law 
and isas uk  ireland those standards require us to comply with the auditing practices board’s ethical standards 
for auditors
this report including the opinions has been prepared for and only for the parent company’s members as a body in 
accordance with chapter 3 of part 16 of the companies act 2006 and for no other purpose we do not in giving these 
opinions accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or 
into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing
what an audit of financial statements involves
an audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give 
reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement whether caused by fraud or 
error this includes an assessment of 
 –whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the group’s and the parent company’s circumstances and have 
been consistently applied and adequately disclosed 
 –the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the directors and
 –the overall presentation of the financial statements 
we primarily focus our work in these areas by assessing the directors’ judgements against available evidence forming 
our own judgements and evaluating the disclosures in the financial statements
we test and examine information using sampling and other auditing techniques to the extent we consider necessary 
to provide a reasonable basis for us to draw conclusions we obtain audit evidence through testing the effectiveness 
of controls substantive procedures or a combination of both 
in addition we read all the financial and nonfinancial information in the annual report to identify material 
inconsistencies with the audited financial statements and to identify any information that is apparently materially 
incorrect based on or materially inconsistent with the knowledge acquired by us in the course of performing the 
audit if we become aware of any apparent material misstatements or inconsistencies we consider the implications 
for our report
nigel reynolds senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of pricewaterhousecoopers llp 
chartered accountants and statutory auditors 
london 
4 march 2015
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 65
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements group
note
2014
£m
2013 
£m
revenue 1041 1103
cost of sales 581 612
gross profit 460 491
distribution costs 09 11
administrative expenses 624 391
ebitda before exceptional costs and share option expense 240 260
share option expense 06 15
depreciation and amortisation excluding amortisation of acquired intangibles 62 57
amortisation of acquired intangibles and impairment of goodwill 322 72
exceptional costs 2 23 27
operating lossprofit 173 89
finance costs 4 28 43
other finance income 4 03 08
net finance costs 4 25 35
share of loss after tax of joint ventures 16 02 02
lossprofit before taxation 5 200 52
adjusted profit before taxation 144 145
taxation 8 13 19
lossprofit for the year from continuing operations 213 33
profit for the year from discontinued operations — 01
lossprofit for the year 213 34
lossearnings per share from continuing operations attributable to owners of 
the parent during the year
basic 10 104p 17p
diluted 10 99p 16p
adjusted earnings from continuing operations per share attributable to owners 
of the parent during the year
basic 10 55p 53p
diluted 10 52p 49p
  adjusted profit before taxation is profit from continuing operations before taxation amortisation of acquired intangibles and impairment 
of goodwill exceptional costs share of loss after tax of joint ventures and other finance income
  discontinued operations reported in 2013 relate to the egaming division which was disposed of in october 2013 there were no 
discontinued operations in 2014 
consolidated income statement
for the year ended 31 december 2014 
66 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 group
note
2014
£m
2013
£m
lossprofit for the year 213 34
other comprehensive expenseincome
items that will not be reclassified to profit and loss
actuarial lossgain on retirement benefit liability 31 04 03
deferred tax on movement on retirement benefit liability 19 01 01
03 02
items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit and loss
currency translation differences 14 07
other comprehensive incomeexpense for the year net of tax 11 05
t otal comprehensive expenseincome for the year 202 29
attributable to the owners of the parent arises from
– continuing operations 202 28
– discontinued operations — 01
202 29
consolidated statement of 
comprehensive expenseincome
for the year ended 31 december 2014
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 67
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements other reserves
group
ordinary
shares
£m
share
option
reserve
£m
pension
reserve
£m
currency
translation
reserve
£m
retained
earnings
£m
total
£m
at 1 january 2013 994 38 05 08 335 1354
comprehensive income
profit for the year — — — — 34 34
other comprehensive income
actuarial gain on retirement benefit liability note 31 — — 02 — — 02
currency translation differences — — — 07 — 07
t otal other comprehensive incomeexpense — — 02 07 — 05
total comprehensive incomeexpense — — 02 07 34 29
transactions with owners
share option credit note 6 — 15 — — — 15
employment taxes paid on vestings in the year — 01 — — — 01
shares issued in relation to psp 30 30 — — — —
at 31 december 2013 1024 22 03 15 369 1397
comprehensive income
loss for the year — — — — 213 213
other comprehensive income
actuarial loss on retirement benefit liability note 31 — — 03 — — 03
currency translation differences — — — 14 — 14
t otal other comprehensive expenseincome — — 03 14 — 11
total comprehensive expenseincome — — 03 14 213 202
transactions with owners
share option credit note 6 — 06 — — — 06
employment taxes paid on vestings in the year — 03 — — — 03
shares issued in relation to psp 02 02 — — — —
at 31 december 2014 1026 23 06 01 156 1198
 net of deferred tax note 19
company
ordinary 
shares
£m
other reserve – 
share option reserve
£m
retained
earnings
£m
total
£m
at 1 january 2013 994 38 273 1305
comprehensive expense
loss for the year — — 109 109
total comprehensive expense — — 109 109
transactions with owners
share option credit — 15 — 15
employment taxes paid on vestings in the year — 01 — 01
shares issued in relation to psp and reserve transfer 30 30 30 30
at 31 december 2013 1024 22 194 1240
comprehensive expense
loss for the year — — 65 65
total comprehensive expense — — 65 65
transactions with owners
share option credit — 06 — 06
employment taxes paid on vestings in the year — 03 — 03
shares issued in relation to psp and reserve transfer 02 02 02 02
at 31 december 2014 1026 23 131 1180
 net of deferred tax note 19
statements of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 december 2014
68 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 group company
note
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
assets
noncurrent assets
goodwill 11 1250 1531 — —
intangible fixed assets 12 421 427 118 131
property plant and equipment 13 249 216 01 01
investments in subsidiaries 14 — — 2037 2037
net investment in joint ventures 16 22 05 — —
trade and other receivables 17 12 03 — —
deferred tax assets 19 14 18 02 10
1968 2200 2158 2179
current assets
trade and other receivables 17 104 90 206 153
inventories 18 15 15 — —
cash and cash equivalents 20 63 26 01 02
182 131 207 155
total assets 2150 2331 2365 2334
liabilities
current liabilities
derivative financial instruments 24 05 13 05 13
financial liabilities 23 — 07 — —
trade and other payables 21 205 211 479 421
provisions 22 02 02 — —
current tax liabilities 08 07 — —
220 240 484 434
net current liabilities 38 109 277 279
noncurrent liabilities
financial liabilities 23 706 666 701 660
retirement benefit liability 31 16 13 — —
provisions 22 04 04 — —
deferred tax liabilities 19 06 11 — —
732 694 701 660
total liabilities 952 934 1185 1094
net assets 1198 1397 1180 1240
equity
ordinary shares 25 1026 1024 1026 1024
other reserves 16 04 23 22
retained earnings 156 369 131 194
total equity 1198 1397 1180 1240
the financial statements on pages 66 to 115 were approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on 
4 march 2015 and were signed on its behalf by 
 
 
 
 
ian penrose    cliff baty
chief executive    chief financial officer
company registration number sc69140
balance sheets
at 31 december 2014
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 69
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements group company
note
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
cash flows from operating activities
cash generated from operations before exceptional items 26 204 244 11 145
interest paid 30 43 30 43
tax paid 13 17 — 02
net cash generated fromused in operating activities 
before cash exceptional costs 161 184 19 100
cash exceptional costs 23 27 08 14
net cash generated fromused in operating activities 138 157 27 86
cash flows from investing activities
investment in joint ventures 16 19 02 — —
capital contribution 14 — — — 25
acquisition of bump worldwide inc inclusive  
of overdraft acquired 15 02 — — —
acquisition of datatote england limited  
net of cash acquired — 24 — —
payment of deferred consideration for sportech racing — 65 — 65
payment of deferred consideration for ebet online inc 07 03 — —
purchase of intangible fixed assets 12 51 38 01 02
purchase of property plant and equipment 13 49 88 — —
net cash used in investing activities 128 220 01 92
cash flows from financing activities
refinancing fee paid – exceptional cost 4 14 — 14 —
net cash inflow from drawdown of borrowings 23 41 60 41 60
net cash from financing activities 27 60 27 60
net increasedecrease in cash and cash equivalents 37 03 01 54
cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 26 29 02 52
cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 20 63 26 01 02
reconciliation of net bank debt
increasedecrease in cash in the year 37 03
net cash inflow from drawdown of borrowings 41 60
 
movement in net bank debt for the year 04 63
at 1 january 634 571
at 31 december 638 634
net bank debt comprises
cash and cash equivalents 20 63 26
loans repayable after one year 23 701 660
at 31 december 638 634
statements of cash flows
for the year ended 31 december 2014
70 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 general information
sportech plc the “company” is a company domiciled 
and incorporated in the uk and listed on the london stock 
exchange the company’s registered office is collins 
house rutland square edinburgh midlothian scotland 
eh1 2aa the consolidated financial statements of the 
company as at and for the year ended 31 december 2014 
comprise the company its subsidiaries and joint ventures 
together referred to as the “group” the principal 
activities of the group are pools betting both b2b and 
b2c and supply of wagering technology solutions
going concern
the group has committed revolving credit banking 
facilities totalling £80m in place with bank of scotland plc 
barclays bank plc and royal bank of scotland plc until 
august 2018 the group’s forecasts and projections which 
have been prepared for the period to 30 june 2016 and 
taking into account reasonably possible changes in 
performance show that the group will be able to operate 
within the level of its current facilities and comply with its 
banking covenants sensitivities were applied to the 
group’s forecasts which resulted in total for a reasonable 
downside scenario in a fall in ebitda assumed to directly 
affect net debt of 14 even at this level of performance 
the forecasts showed that the group would stay in 
compliance with its most sensitive covenant being 
leverage at all testing dates in the period under review 
the sensitivities applied included effects of changes to 
player acquisition assumptions in football pools handle 
levels in venues and system sales achieved in racing 
and digital
after making reasonable enquiries the directors have a 
reasonable expectation that the company and the group 
have adequate resources to continue in operational 
existence for the foreseeable future accordingly they 
continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing 
the financial statements
basis of accounting
these financial statements have been prepared in 
accordance with international financial reporting 
standards “ifrss” and international financial reporting 
interpretation committee “ifric” interpretations as 
adopted by the european union “ifrss as adopted by the 
european union” and with those parts of the companies 
act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under ifrss 
the financial statements have been prepared under the 
historical cost convention as modified by the revaluation 
of certain financial assets and financial liabilities including 
derivative instruments at fair value through profit or loss
the group’s accounting policies have been set by 
management approved by the audit committee 
and consistently applied the preparation of financial 
statements in conformity with ifrss requires the use 
of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported 
amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial 
statements and the reported amounts of revenues and 
expenses during the reporting period although these 
estimates are based on management’s best knowledge 
of the amount event or actions actual results ultimately 
may differ from those estimates 
amounts presented in the financial statements have been 
rounded to the nearest £100000 
critical judgements
critical judgements have been made in the following areas
carrying value of goodwill and acquired intangible 
fixed assets
for the purposes of determining whether an impairment 
of goodwill and intangibles from the littlewoods 
vernons and ebet online inc acquisitions has occurred 
and the extent of any impairment or its reversal the key 
assumptions the group uses in estimating future cash 
flows for valueinuse measures are spend per player 
the impact of the introduction of new distribution routes 
in 2014 particularly the investment in online technologies 
and the cross sell opportunities this brings revenue from 
customer contracts and cost reductions from ongoing 
cost reviews these assumptions and the judgements 
of management that are based on them are subject to 
change as new information becomes available changes 
in economic conditions and government policy can also 
affect the rate used to discount future cash flow estimates 
the discount rate applied is reviewed annually changes in 
assumptions could affect the carrying amounts of assets 
and impairment charges and reversals will affect income 
further details are disclosed within notes 11 and 12
value of other intangible fixed assets
intangible assets recognised on the group’s balance 
sheet include software assets and licences management 
is required to assess the carrying value of assets with an 
indefinite life at least annually and other assets when an 
indication of impairment arises the key assumptions used 
in estimating the future cash flows for valueinuse 
measures include estimating capital expenditure and 
projected revenue levels for fair value measures external 
market information of resale valuations is used to estimate 
recoverable amount management uses its judgement and 
industry knowledge as well as external indicators in the 
assessments of carrying value of intangible fixed assets 
changes in assumptions could affect the carrying amounts 
of assets further details are disclosed within note 12
accounting policies
for the year ended 31 december 2014
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 71
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements accounting policies continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed 
on acquisition of subsidiaries
the group is required to recognise assets acquired 
and liabilities assumed at fair value at the date of 
acquisition under ifrs 3 “business combinations” 
revised management takes into account where 
required independent valuation of assets or where 
market valuations are not available the future discounted 
cash flows expected to be generated by the assets 
acquired where further information arises in the twelve 
months postacquisition relevant to the fair value of 
assets acquired and liabilities assumed those valuations are 
revised and restated in the prior year comparative amounts
during the year the group acquired bump worldwide inc
“bump” further details of the fair value of assets 
acquired and liabilities assumed together with the 
judgements made are disclosed within note 15
share options
the fair value of employee options awarded under the 
sportech share option scheme is calculated using the 
blackscholes model the fair value of employee psp 
awards is valued using a stochastic monte carlo valuation 
model in accordance with ifrs 2 the resulting cost 
is charged to the income statement over the vesting 
period of the optionsawards at each balance sheet 
date management uses its judgement to revise its 
estimates of the number of options that are expected 
to vest it recognises the impact of the revision to original 
estimates in the income statement with a corresponding 
adjustment to equity
recognition of revenue of multielement contract 
including longterm contract accounting
the group enters into material contracts to sell the 
group’s intellectual property “ip” tote software 
and customise the ip to the customer’s preferences and 
requirements as well as selling hardware and ongoing 
services all typically within one agreement such a 
sale involving multiple component parts recognised by 
the customer as separate elements to the contract is 
accounted for as a multielement contract in accordance 
with ias 18 “revenue” the fair value of the revenue of 
each part is estimated based on the price which is 
regularly charged when that item is sold separately 
or a value which is considered to be the fair value of 
that part there is inherent judgement involved in 
allocating fair values to the elements of a multielement 
contract in addition contract elements which span a 
long period of time are are accounted for on a percentage 
of completion basis per ias 11 “construction contracts” 
management uses judgement its industry knowledge 
and past experience of similar sales to allocate fair 
values determine the stage of completion and record 
revenue accordingly 
taxation
tax provisions are recognised when it is considered 
probable more likely than not that there will be a future 
outflow of funds to a taxing authority in such cases 
provision is made for the amount that is expected to be 
settled where this can be reasonably estimated this 
requires the application of judgement as to the ultimate 
outcome which can change over time depending on facts 
and circumstances a change in estimate of the likelihood 
of a future outflow andor in the expected amount to be 
settled would be recognised in income in the period in 
which the change occurs deferred tax assets are 
recognised only to the extent it is considered probable 
that those assets will be recoverable this involves an 
assessment of when those deferred tax assets are likely 
to reverse and a judgement as to whether or not there 
will be sufficient taxable profits available to offset the tax 
assets when they do reverse this requires assumptions 
regarding future profitability and is therefore inherently 
uncertain to the extent assumptions regarding future 
profitability change there can be an increase or decrease 
in the amounts recognised in respect of deferred tax 
assets as well as the amounts recognised in income in 
the period in which the change occurs tax provisions 
are based on enacted or substantively enacted laws 
changes in those laws could affect amounts recognised 
in income both in the period of change which would 
include any impact on cumulative provisions and in future 
periods note 19 contains information on tax charges 
on the deferred tax assets that are recognised including 
periodic movements and on the losses on which deferred 
tax is not currently recognised
basis of consolidation
the consolidated financial statements include the 
accounts of the company and its subsidiaries together 
with a share of the results assets and liabilities of its joint 
ventures using the equity method of accounting all of 
which have consistent reporting dates with the company 
the company’s accounting reference date is 31 december 
consistent with the normal monthly reporting process the 
actual date to which the balance sheet has been drawn up 
is to 4 january 2015 2013 5 january 2014 for ease of 
reference in these financial statements all references to 
the results for the year are for the year ended 31 december 
2014 2013 31 december 2013 and the financial position 
at 31 december 2014 2013 31 december 2013
72 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 accounting policies
a summary of more important group accounting policies 
follows these policies have been applied consistently to 
all the years presented 
a subsidiaries
subsidiaries are all entities over which the group has 
the power to govern the financial and operating policies 
generally accompanying a shareholding of more than 
onehalf of the voting rights the existence and effect 
of potential voting rights that are currently exercisable 
or convertible are considered when assessing whether 
the group controls another entity subsidiaries are fully 
consolidated from the date on which control is transferred 
to the group they are deconsolidated from the date that 
control ceases
the purchase method of accounting is used to account 
for the acquisition of subsidiaries by the group the 
consideration transferred for the acquisition of a subsidiary 
is the fair value of the assets given equity instruments 
issued and liabilities incurred or assumed at the date of 
exchange the consideration transferred includes the fair 
value of any asset or liability resulting from a contingent 
consideration arrangement contingent consideration 
is recognised at fair value at the acquisition date and 
remeasured at each balance sheet date until settlement 
the revaluation amount is debitedcredited to the income 
statement in the period in which the estimated fair value 
is increaseddecreased acquisition related costs are 
expensed as incurred identifiable assets acquired and 
liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business 
combination are measured initially at their fair values at 
the acquisition date the excess of the cost of acquisition 
over the fair value of the group’s share of the identifiable 
net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill if the cost of 
acquisition is less than the fair value of the net assets 
of the subsidiary acquired the difference is recognised 
directly in the income statement
transactions between subsidiaries are performed on an 
arm’slength basis intercompany transactions balances 
and unrealised gains on transactions between group 
companies are eliminated unrealised losses are also 
eliminated but considered an impairment indicator of the 
asset transferred accounting policies of subsidiaries have 
been changed where necessary to ensure consistency 
with the policies adopted by the group
b joint ventures
a joint venture is an entity in which the group holds an 
interest on a longterm basis and which is jointly controlled 
by the group and one or more venturers under a 
contractual agreement the group’s share of its joint 
ventures’ postacquisition profits and losses is recognised 
in the income statement and its share of postacquisition 
movements in other comprehensive income is recognised 
in other comprehensive income the cumulative post
acquisition movements are adjusted against the carrying 
amount of the investment when the group’s share of 
losses in a joint venture equals or exceeds its interest in the 
joint venture including any other unsecured receivables 
the group does not recognise further losses unless it has 
incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the 
joint venture
unrealised gains on transactions between the group and 
its joint venture are eliminated to the extent of the group’s 
interest in the joint venture unrealised losses are also 
eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of 
an impairment of the asset transferred the accounting 
policies of the joint venture have been changed where 
necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted 
by the group
c revenue
revenue from external customers net of vat excise 
duties returns rebates and discounts and after eliminating 
sales within the group represents
 –the value of entry fees net of winnings paid receivable 
in respect of football pools recognised on the date of 
the event
 –the value of stakes net of winnings paid received in 
relation to fixedodds betting activities recognised on 
the date of the event 
 –the value of goods and services sold to external 
customers including management fees to registered 
charities for the management of charity lotteries is 
recognised when the goods and services are consumed
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 73
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements accounting policies continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
c revenue continued
 –sale of terminals and systems recognised when 
significant risks and rewards of ownership have been 
transferred which is when title passes to the customer 
generally being at the point of customer acceptance 
sales which involve significant customisation are 
recognised on a percentage of completion basis in 
accordance with ias 11 and
 –the value of services delivered under service contracts 
generally based on either a percentage of amounts 
wagered or on a predetermined fixed amount depending 
on contract terms
although the value of entry fees net of winnings paid 
and the value of bets net of winnings paid is reported as 
revenue both meet the definition of a gain under ias 39 
“financial instruments recognition and measurement” 
under multiple element arrangements revenue is 
allocated to the various elements based on fair value 
determined by the price charged when the same element 
is sold separately
d accruals and deferred income
accruals and deferred income includes the value of stakes 
placed prior to the end of the financial period in respect of 
competitions and sporting events held subsequent to the 
end of the financial period and income received in advance 
of a service or product being delivered
e segmental reporting
operating segments are reported in a manner consistent 
with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating 
decisionmaker the chief operating decisionmaker 
who is responsible for allocating resources and assessing 
performance of the operating segments has been 
identified as the executive committee which makes 
strategic and operational decisions
the group has identified its business segments as 
outlined below
 –football pools football pools and associated games 
through traditional channels such as mail telephone 
agentbased collection retail outlets thirdparty licensed 
betting offices and through online and digital channels
 –sportech racing and digital provision of parimutuel 
wagering services and systems worldwide principally 
to the horseracing industry 
 –sportech venues offtrack betting venue management 
and
 –corporate costs central costs relating to the company 
in its capacity as the holding company of the group 
f taxation
the current income tax charge is calculated on the basis 
of the tax laws enacted or substantively enacted at the 
balance sheet date in the countries where the company 
and its subsidiaries operate and generate taxable income 
management periodically evaluates positions taken in tax 
returns with respect to situations in which applicable tax 
regulation is subject to interpretation and establishes 
provisions where appropriate on the basis of amounts 
expected to be paid to the tax authorities
tax is recognised in the income statement except to 
the extent that it relates to items recognised in other 
comprehensive income or directly in equity in this case 
the tax is also recognised in other comprehensive income 
or directly in equity respectively
deferred income tax is provided in full using the liability 
method on temporary differences arising between the tax 
bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts 
in the consolidated financial statements however the 
deferred income tax is not accounted for if it arises from 
initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction 
other than a business combination that at the time of the 
transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable profit 
or loss deferred income tax is determined using tax rates 
and laws that have been enacted or substantially enacted 
by the balance sheet date and are expected to apply when 
the related deferred income tax asset is realised or the 
deferred income tax liability is settled
deferred income tax assets are recognised to the extent 
that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available 
against which the temporary differences can be utilised
deferred income tax is provided on temporary 
differences arising on investments in subsidiaries 
except where the timing of the reversal of the temporary 
difference is controlled by the group and it is probable 
that the temporary difference will not reverse in the 
foreseeable future 
deferred income tax assets and liabilities are offset when 
there is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax 
assets against current tax liabilities and when the deferred 
income tax assets and liabilities relate to income taxes 
levied by the same taxation authority on either the same 
or different taxable entities where there is an intention to 
settle the balances on a net basis
74 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 g foreign currencies
functional and presentation currency
items included in the financial statements of each of the 
group’s entities are measured using the currency of the 
primary economic environment in which the entity 
operates the “functional currency” the consolidated 
financial statements are presented in sterling £ which 
is the company’s functional currency and the group’s 
presentation currency
transactions and balances
transactions in foreign currencies are translated into the 
functional currency at the rate of exchange ruling at the 
date of the transaction monetary assets and liabilities in 
foreign currencies are translated at the rates of exchange 
ruling at the balance sheet date foreign exchange gains 
and losses resulting from the settlement of such 
transactions and from the translation at year end 
exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities 
denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in 
the income statement except where deferred in other 
comprehensive income as qualifying cash flow hedges
foreign exchange gains and losses that relate to 
borrowings and cash and cash equivalents are presented 
in the income statement within finance income or costs 
all other foreign exchange gains and losses are presented 
in the income statement within operating profit
group companies
the results and financial position of all the group entities 
none of which has the currency of a hyperinflationary 
economy that have a functional currency different from 
the presentation currency are translated into the 
presentation currency as follows
 –assets and liabilities for each balance sheet presented 
are translated at the closing rate at the date of that 
balance sheet
 –income and expenses for each income statement are 
translated at average exchange rates unless this average 
is not a reasonable approximation of the cumulative 
effect of the rates prevailing on the transaction dates 
in which case income and expenses are translated at 
the rate on the dates of the transactions and
 –all resulting exchange differences are recognised in other 
comprehensive income
goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on the 
acquisition of a foreign entity are treated as assets liabilities 
of the foreign entity and translated at the closing rate
h property plant and equipment
property plant and equipment are carried at historical 
cost less accumulated depreciation and any impairment 
cost includes the original purchase price of the asset and 
the costs attributable in bringing the asset to its working 
condition for its intended use and any associated 
borrowing costs assets in the course of construction are 
not depreciated until the asset is completed subsequent 
costs are included in the asset’s carrying amount or 
recognised as a separate asset as appropriate only when 
it is probable that future economic benefits associated 
with the item will flow to the group and the cost of the 
item can be measured reliably the carrying amount of the 
replaced part is derecognised all other repairs and 
maintenance are charged to the income statement during 
the financial period in which they are incurred
gains and losses on disposals are determined by 
comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and 
are recognised within administrative expenses in the 
income statement
assets in the course of construction are capitalised when 
first brought into use and depreciated from this date
i depreciation
depreciation is provided on a straightline basis to write 
off the cost of property plant and equipment down to 
residual value over their anticipated useful lives at the 
following annual rates
long leasehold and owned land 
not depreciated
long leasehold and owned buildings 
40 to 50
short leasehold land and buildings 
over the period of the lease
plant equipment and other fixtures and fittings 
100 to 333
the assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed 
and adjusted if appropriate at each balance sheet date
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 75
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements accounting policies continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
j goodwill
goodwill arising on consolidation represents the excess 
of the fair value of consideration given over the fair value 
of the separately identifiable net assets acquired goodwill 
arising on acquisitions before the date of transition to ifrss 
4 january 2005 has been frozen at the previous uk 
gaap net book value at the date of transition subject to 
being tested for impairment annually at the year end date
goodwill is allocated to cashgenerating units “cgu” 
for the purpose of impairment testing the allocation is 
made to the cgu that is expected to benefit from the 
business combination in which the goodwill arose
goodwill is carried at cost less accumulated 
impairment losses  
k intangible fixed assets
intangible fixed assets are held at cost less accumulated 
amortisation and impairment amortisation is charged 
on a straightline basis over the estimated useful life of 
the intangible fixed asset
customer contracts and relationships
intangible customer contracts and relationship assets 
relate to the acquisition of ebet online inc datatote 
england limited and bump worldwide inc customer 
contracts and relationships are capitalised in accordance 
with ifrs 3 “business combinations” revised and on the 
basis of a valueinuse calculation using an incomebased 
approach amortisation is calculated using the straightline 
method over their estimated useful lives as follows
 –ebet online inc 
four years from 19 december 2012
 –datatote england limited 
four years from 27 september 2013
 –bump worldwide inc 
two years from 12 june 2014
software
externally acquired computer software licences are 
capitalised on the basis of the costs incurred to acquire 
and bring to use the specific software these costs are 
amortised over their estimated useful lives or contractual 
period if shorter six to ten years 
development costs that are directly attributable to the 
design and testing of identifiable and unique software 
products controlled by the group are recognised as 
intangible assets when the following criteria are met
 –it is technically feasible to complete the software product 
so that it will be available for use
 –management intends to complete the software product
 –it can be demonstrated how the software product will 
generate probable future economic benefits
 –adequate technical financial and other resources to 
complete the development and to use or sell the 
software product are available and
 –the expenditure attributable to the software product 
during its development can be reliably measured
directly attributable costs that are capitalised as part of 
the software product include the software development 
employee costs and an appropriate proportion of relevant 
overhead other development expenditure that does 
not meet these criteria are recognised as an expense 
as incurred development costs previously recognised 
as an expense are not recognised as an asset in a 
subsequent period
software development costs are amortised over their 
estimated useful lives which do not exceed 15 years
other intangibles
included within other intangibles are separately acquired 
licences recognised at historical cost licences acquired 
in a business combination are recognised at fair value at 
the acquisition date licences that have a finite useful 
life are carried at cost less accumulated amortisation 
amortisation is calculated using the straightline method 
to allocate cost of licences over their estimated useful lives 
of 15 to 20 years licences with an infinite life licences 
granted in perpetuity are held at cost or fair value at 
acquisition date and tested annually for impairment
during 2012 the group acquired ebet online inc giving 
rise to the recognition of licences and a noncompete 
agreement the noncompete agreement fair value was 
derived from a comparative income differential method 
and is amortised over the life of the agreement being 
three years
l investments in subsidiaries
investments in subsidiaries are carried at historic cost less 
any impairment annual impairment reviews are performed
76 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 m impairment reviews
assets that are subject to amortisation or depreciation are 
reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in 
circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not 
be recoverable goodwill and intangible assets with 
indefinite lives are subject to an annual review for 
impairment in accordance with ias 36 “impairment of 
assets” the recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s 
fair value less costs to sell and valueinuse for the 
purpose of assessing impairments assets are grouped at 
the lowest levels at which there are separately identifiable 
cash flows any impairment losses are recognised in the 
income statement in the year in which they occur any 
impairment loss recognised on goodwill is not reversed
all other individual assets are tested for impairment 
whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate 
that the carrying amount may not be recoverable with 
the exception of goodwill all assets are subsequently 
reassessed for indications that an impairment loss 
previously recognised may no longer exist at each 
reporting date
n pension obligation
the group operates various pension schemes 
the schemes are generally funded through payments 
to insurance companies or trustee administered funds 
determined by periodic actuarial calculations the group 
has both defined benefit and defined contribution plans 
a defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which 
the group pays fixed contributions into a separate entity 
the group has no legal or constructive obligations to pay 
further contributions if the fund does not hold sufficient 
assets to pay all employees the benefits relating to 
employee service in the current and prior periods 
a defined benefit plan is a pension plan that is not a 
defined contribution plan typically defined benefit plans 
define an amount of pension benefit that an employee will 
receive on retirement usually dependent on one or more 
factors such as age years of service and compensation
the asset or liability recognised in the balance sheet in 
respect of the defined benefit pension plan is the fair value 
of plan assets less the present value of the defined benefit 
obligation at the balance sheet date the defined benefit 
obligation is calculated annually by independent actuaries 
using the projected unit credit method the present 
value  of the defined benefit obligation is determined 
by discounting the estimated future cash outflows using 
interest rates of high quality corporate bonds that are 
denominated in the currency in which the benefits will 
be paid and that have terms to maturity approximating 
to the terms of the related pension liability
actuarial gains and losses arising from experience 
adjustments and changes in actuarial assumptions are 
charged or credited to equity in other comprehensive 
income in the period in which they arise
past service costs are recognised immediately in income
for defined contribution plans the group pays 
contributions to privately administered pension insurance 
plans on a mandatory contractual or voluntary basis 
the group has no further payment obligations once 
the contributions have been paid the contributions are 
recognised as an employee benefit expense when they 
are due prepaid contributions are recognised as an asset 
to the extent that a cash refund or a reduction in future 
payments is available
o financial instruments
the group uses derivative financial instruments to reduce 
exposure to interest rate and exchange rate movements 
the group does not hold or issue derivative financial 
instruments for speculative purposes financial assets 
and liabilities are recognised on the group’s balance sheet 
initially at fair value when the group becomes party to 
the contractual provisions of the instrument subsequent 
measurement depends on the designation of the 
instrument in accordance with ias 39 
derivative financial instruments and hedging activities
derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on 
the date a derivative contract is entered into and 
are subsequently remeasured at their fair value 
the method of recognising the resulting gain or loss 
depends on whether the derivative is designated as 
a hedging instrument and if so the nature of the item 
being hedged the group designates certain derivatives 
as hedges of the variability of cash flows cash flow 
hedge the group documents at the inception of the 
transaction the relationship between hedging instruments 
and hedged items as well as its risk management objective 
and strategy for undertaking various hedge transactions 
the group also documents its assessment both at 
hedge inception and on an ongoing basis of whether 
the derivatives that are used in hedging transactions 
are highly effective in offsetting changes in the cash 
flows of the hedged items
cash flow hedges
the effective portion of changes in the fair value of 
derivatives that are designated and qualify as cash flow 
hedges is recognised in other comprehensive income 
the gain or loss relating to the ineffective portion is 
recognised immediately in the income statement
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 77
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements accounting policies continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
o financial instruments continued
amounts accumulated in equity are recycled in the income 
statement in the periods when the hedged item will affect 
profit or loss for example when the forecast transaction 
that is hedged takes place however when the forecast 
transaction that is hedged results in the recognition of 
a nonfinancial asset or a liability the gains and losses 
previously deferred in equity are transferred from equity 
and included in the initial measurement of the cost of the 
asset or liability
when a hedging instrument expires or is sold or when 
a hedge no longer meets the criteria for hedge accounting 
any cumulative gain or loss existing in equity at that time 
remains in equity and is recognised when the forecast 
transaction is ultimately recognised in the income 
statement when a forecast transaction is no longer 
expected to occur the cumulative gain or loss that was 
reported in equity is immediately transferred to the 
income statement
p sharebased payments
the fair value of employee options awarded under the 
sportech share option scheme is calculated using the 
blackscholes model the fair value of employee psp 
awards is valued using a stochastic monte carlo valuation 
model in accordance with ifrs 2 the resulting cost is 
charged to the income statement over the vesting period 
of the optionsawards the total amount to be expensed 
is determined by reference to the fair value of the options
awards granted including any market performance 
conditions which are those that are based on sportech 
plc’s share price and excluding the impact of any service 
and nonmarket performance vesting conditions being 
profitability and the individual remaining an employee over 
a specified time period at each balance sheet date the 
company revises its estimates of the number of options 
that are expected to vest it recognises the impact of 
the revision to original estimates if any in the income 
statement with a corresponding adjustment to equity
the charge in relation to employees who provide services 
to subsidiary companies is recharged to those subsidiaries 
where the charge is not required to be settled in cash 
the company’s investment in that subsidiary is increased 
by the value of the charge and a corresponding increase 
in equity is recognised in the subsidiary
q cash and cash equivalents
for the purposes of the cash flow statement cash and 
cash equivalents represent cash in hand operational 
cash held at trading venues and cash held in current 
accounts with banks including overdrafts cash and cash 
equivalents shown on the balance sheet represent cash 
in hand cash in vaults and cash held in current accounts 
bank overdrafts are shown within current liabilities
r borrowings
borrowings are recognised initially at fair value net of 
transaction costs incurred borrowings are subsequently 
stated at amortised cost any difference between the 
proceeds net of transaction costs and the redemption 
value is recognised in the income statement over the 
period of the borrowings using the effective interest 
method borrowings are classified as current liabilities 
unless the group has an unconditional right to defer 
settlement of the liability for at least twelve months after 
the balance sheet date 
s exceptional items
the group defines exceptional items as those items which 
by their nature or size would distort the comparability of 
the group’s results from year to year
t trade receivables
trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value and 
subsequently measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest method less provision for impairment 
being the difference between the assets’ carrying 
amounts and the present value of the estimated future 
cash flows discounted at the original effective interest 
rate individually significant receivables are considered 
for impairment when they are past due or when other 
objective evidence is received that a specific customer 
will default or delinquency in payment will arise any 
subsequent recovery of amounts written off is credited 
to the income statement
u trade payables
trade payables are recognised initially at fair value and 
subsequently measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest method
v inventories
inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net 
realisable value cost is determined using the first in 
first out method net realisable value is the estimated 
selling price in the ordinary course of business
w provisions
provisions for onerous contracts onerous leases 
restructuring costs legal claims and dilapidations are 
recognised when the group has a present legal or 
constructive obligation as a result of past events it is 
probable that an outflow of resources will be required 
to settle the obligation and the amount has been reliably 
estimated provisions are not recognised for future 
operating losses where the group has no contractual 
obligation to deliver the service or product
78 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 x leases
leases in which a significant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are retained by the lessor are classified 
as operating leases payments made under operating leases net of any incentives received from the lessor are 
charged to the income statement on a straightline basis over the period of the lease
y share capital
ordinary shares are classed as equity incremental costs directly attributable to the value of new shares or options 
are shown in equity as a deduction from the proceeds in the share premium account where the shares were issued 
at a premium or where issued at par or where the issue costs exceed the premium on the issue to retained earnings
z new standards amendments and interpretations adopted by the group
the following new standards and amendments to standards or interpretations are mandatory for the first time for 
the financial year beginning 1 january 2014 and have been adopted by the group
standard or interpretation content 
applicable for financial 
years beginning on or after
ifrs 10 consolidated financial statements 1 january 2014
ifrs 11 joint arrangements 1 january 2014
ifrs 12 disclosures of interests in other entities 1 january 2014
amendment to ias 32 financial instruments presentation 1 january 2014
amendments to ias 36 impairment of assets 1 january 2014
annual improvements to ifrss 2012 and 2013 various 1 january 2014
aa new standards amendments and interpretations not yet effective and not adopted by the group
the following standards amendments and interpretations are not yet effective and have not been adopted early 
by the group 
standard or interpretation content 
applicable for financial 
years beginning on or after
amendments to ifrs 9 financial instruments 1 january 2018
ifrs 15 revenue from contracts with customers 1 january 2017
annual improvements 2014 various 1 january 2016
none of the above are expected to have a material impact on the financial statements of the group or parent company
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 79
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 december 2014
1 segmental reporting
the executive committee assesses the performance of the operating segments based on a measure of adjusted 
ebitda which excludes the effects of nonrecurring expenditure such as restructuring costs and impairments of assets 
the share option expense is also excluded interest is not allocated to segments as the group’s cash position is controlled 
by the central finance team sales between segments are at arm’s length
2014
football
pools
£m
sportech
racing 
and
digital 
£m
sportech
venues
£m
corporate
costs
£m
inter
segment
elimination
£m
group
£m
revenue from sale of goods 380 42 — — — 422
revenue from rendering of services — 303 325 — 09 619
total revenue 380 345 325 — 09 1041
ebitda before exceptional costs and share 
option expense 166 81 32 39 — 240
share option expense — — — 06 — 06
depreciation and amortisation excluding 
amortisation of acquired intangibles and 
impairment of goodwill 15 35 12 — — 62
segment result before amortisation of 
acquired intangibles impairment of goodwill 
and exceptional costs 151 46 20 45 — 172
amortisation of acquired intangibles and 
impairment of goodwill 307 15 — — — 322
exceptional costs 14 — 01 08 — 23
operating lossprofit 170 31 19 53 — 173
net finance costs 25
share of loss after tax of joint ventures 02
loss before taxation 200
taxation 13
loss for the year 213
segment assets 1796 782 352 342 1122 2150
segment liabilities 161 640 73 1200 1122 952
other segment items
capital expenditure notes 12 and 13 30 57 13 — — 100
depreciation note 13 03 17 10 — — 30
amortisation of intangible assets including 
acquired intangibles note 12 38 33 02 — — 73
80 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 2013
football
pools
£m
sportech
racing 
and
digital 
£m
sportech
venues
£m
corporate
costs
£m
inter
segment
elimination
£m
group
£m
revenue from sale of goods 413 41 — — 01 453
revenue from rendering of services — 318 341 — 09 650
total revenue 413 359 341 — 10 1103
ebitda before exceptional costs and share 
option expense 174 77 48 38 01 260
share option expense — — — 15 — 15
depreciation and amortisation notes 12 and 13 14 29 14 — — 57
segment result before amortisation of 
acquired intangibles and exceptional costs 160 48 34 53 01 188
amortisation of acquired intangibles 59 13 — — — 72
exceptional costs 04 06 03 14 — 27
operating profitloss 97 29 31 67 01 89
net finance costs 35
share of loss after tax of joint ventures 02
profit before taxation 52
taxation 19
profit for the year from continuing operations 33
profit for the year from discontinued 
operations 01
profit for the year 34
segment assets 1934 390 292 229 514 2331
segment liabilities 134 97 190 1024 511 934
other segment items
capital expenditure notes 12 and 13 24 64 36 02 — 126
depreciation note 13 03 17 12 — — 32
amortisation of intangible assets including 
acquired intangibles note 12 70 25 02 — — 97
discontinued activities
loss on disposal of tangible and 
intangible assets 04 — — — — 04
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 81
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
1 segmental reporting continued
information by geographical area
revenues from 
external customers noncurrent assets
2014
£m
2013 
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
united kingdom 411 436 1422 1737
north america 507 540 515 436
europe 113 118 31 27
other 10 09 — —
total 1041 1103 1968 2200
revenue is allocated to the country in which the customer is located and the service is performed or product is delivered
2 exceptional costs
exceptional charges of £23m 2013 £27m are included within administrative expenses and exceptional charges of 
£06m 2013 income of £14m are included within net finance costs in the income statement exceptional costs by type 
are as follows
2014
£m
2013
£m
included in administrative expenses
redundancy and restructuring costs in respect of the rationalisation  
and modernisation of the business 11 10
compensation for loss of office — 03
costs and fees in relation to spot the ball vat claim 02 05
transaction costs in respect of the acquisition of subsidiaries 01 02
licensing costs in new jersey in respect of the acquisition of sportech racing 01 03
costs in relation to the set up of us joint ventures 06 —
ifrs 3 employment costs in relation to datatote england limited and bump worldwide inc 04 01
release of contingent consideration accrued for ebet online inc 05 —
other exceptional costs 03 03
23 27
included in net finance costs
refinancing fee 14 —
movement on derivative financial instruments post designation as ineffective 08 14
06 14
total exceptional costs 29 13
82 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 3 expenses by nature
2014
£m
2013
£m
selling commissions 26 32
betting and gaming duties 64 69
track and tote fees 144 157
marketing printing and postage costs 60 64
employment costs note 6 304 315
share option expense note 6 06 15
depreciation and amortisation notes 12 and 13 103 129
impairment of goodwill note 11 281 —
distribution costs 09 11
it and telecommunications costs 25 37
cost of inventories recognised as an expense note 18 35 27
exceptional costs excluding redundancy and restructuring costs and compensation  
for loss of office note 2 12 14
property related costs 54 53
other costs 91 91
total expenses of continuing operations 1214 1014
expenses of discontinued operations — 53
total expenses 1214 1067
included in the above table are exceptional costs of £23m 2013 £27m
4 net finance costs
2014
£m
2013
£m
interest payable on bank loans derivative financial instruments and overdrafts 28 43
refinancing fee 14 —
movement on derivative financial instruments post designation as ineffective 08 14
noncash finance charges — 04
foreign exchange gainloss on financial assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency 09 02
net finance costs 25 35
 noncash finance charges are in respect of the deferred consideration payable on the acquisition of sportech racing in october 2010
the refinancing fee the fair value movements on derivative financial instruments the noncash finance charges and 
the foreign exchange gainloss on financial assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency are all together 
shown as other finance income in the income statement included in the above table are exceptional charges of £06m 
2013 income of £14m
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 83
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 5 lossprofit before taxation
lossprofit before taxation is stated after charging
note
2014
£m
2013
£m
employment costs 6 310 330
depreciation of property plant and equipment 13 30 32
impairment of goodwill 11 281 —
amortisation of acquired intangibles 12 41 72
amortisation of other intangibles 12 32 25
the fees of the auditors in relation to their audit of the company and consolidated accounts are £38000 2013 £38000
fees paid to auditors for other services comprise
2014
£m
2013
£m
audit of the group’s subsidiaries 02 02
taxation compliance 01 05
taxation advisory services 02 —
other assurance services 01 —
total fees 06 07
6 employment costs
average number of monthly employees fulltime equivalents including executive directors comprised
2014
number
2013
number
sales and marketing 103 105
operations and distribution 583 567
administration 110 123
total employees 796 795
their aggregate remuneration comprised
2014
£m
2013
£m
wages and salaries 256 268
social security costs 39 38
pension costs – defined contribution scheme note 31 07 07
pension costs – defined benefit scheme note 31 02 02
share option expense 06 15
total remuneration 310 330
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
84 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 7 directors and key management remuneration
directors
2014
£000
2013
£000
shortterm employee benefits 1420 1345
sharebased payments 304 1505
termination benefits — 141
postemployment benefits 72 60
total remuneration 1796 3051
details of individual directors’ remuneration and sharebased incentives granted are given in the remuneration 
report on pages 36 to 55 this information forms part of the financial statements retirement benefits are accruing 
under defined benefit pension schemes for nil directors 2013 nil three directors exercised share options in the year 
2013 nil 
key management compensation
2014
£000
2013
£000
shortterm employee benefits 1803 1780
termination benefits — 141
postemployment benefits 83 66
sharebased payments 386 831
total 2272 2818
key management is considered to be the directors of the company executive and nonexecutive and senior executives 
8 taxation
2014
£m
2013
£m
current tax 
current tax on lossprofit for the year 15 18
adjustments in respect of prior years 02 —
total current tax 13 18
deferred tax
origination and reversal of temporary differences 01 01
effect of changes in tax rates 01 02
total deferred tax — 01
total taxation charge 13 19
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 85
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 8 taxation continued
the taxation on the group’s lossprofit before taxation differs from the theoretical amount that would arise using the 
weighted average tax rate applicable to profits and losses of the consolidated entities as follows
2014
£m
2013
£m
lossprofit before taxation 200 52
add share of loss after tax of joint ventures 02 02
lossprofit before taxation and share of loss after tax of joint ventures 198 54
tax calculated at domestic tax rates applicable to profitslosses in the respective countries 46 15
tax effects of
– permanent differences 62 03
– deferred tax not previously provided — 01
– effect of changes in tax rates 01 02
– adjustments in respect of prior years 02 —
total taxation charge 13 19
the weighted average applicable tax rate was 230 2013 268 the decrease is as a result of a change in mix of 
profitslosses in jurisdictions with varying tax rates
included within permanent differences is the tax effect at 215 of the £281m impairment of goodwill in the football 
pools segment for which no tax relief is received 
as the group’s year end is after the substantive enactment date 2 july 2013 of the finance act 2013 and after the 
substantive enactment date of the march 2013 uk budget statement changes these financial statements account for 
the change in uk corporation tax rate from 23 to 21 with effect from 1 april 2014 and the change in tax rate from 21 
to 20 with effect from 1 april 2015 therefore the rate at which deferred tax is calculated has changed deferred tax in 
the uk is provided at a blended rate of 2025 or at 20 depending on when the deferred tax is expected to unwind
9 loss of holding company
of the group’s loss for the year a loss of £65m 2013 £109m is dealt with in the accounts of sportech plc and the 
statement of changes in equity the directors have taken advantage of the exemption available under section 408 of 
the companies act 2006 and have not presented an income statement and statement of comprehensive income for 
the company alone
the individual income statement of sportech plc was approved by the board on 4 march 2015
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
86 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 10 earnings per share
a basic
basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the lossprofit attributable to equity holders of the company by the 
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year
2014
£m
2013
£m
lossprofit from continuing operations attributable to the owners of the parent 213 33
profit from discontinued operations attributable to the owners of the parent — 01
total 213 34
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue ’000 204986 200227
basic lossearnings per share 104p 17p
b diluted
diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to 
assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares certain employee options 707070 in number 2013 707070 
have been excluded from the calculated diluted eps as their exercise price is greater than the weighted average share 
price during the year and therefore would not be dilutive the weighted average number of shares that have a dilutive 
effect on adjusted eps is 9005000 2013 13161000 diluted basic loss per share is 99p 2013 earnings per share 16p 
and diluted adjusted eps is 52p 2013 49p
c basic adjusted 
the calculations of adjusted eps are based on the following profits attributable to ordinary shareholders the weighted 
average number of shares and an estimated adjusted tax charge of 223 2013 277 the adjusted tax charge is 
based on adjusted profit before tax which excludes exceptional items other finance income and share option charges 
therefore the tax effect of these items is excluded 
2014 2013
profit
£m
weighted 
average 
number of
 shares
’000
per share 
amount
pence
profit
£m
weighted 
average 
number of
 shares
’000
per share 
amount
pence
operating profit before amortisation of 
acquired intangibles impairment of goodwill 
and exceptional costs 172 204986 84 188 200227 94
net finance costs excluding other finance 
income 28 204986 14 43 200227 21
adjusted profit before taxation 144 204986 70 145 200227 73
tax at 223 2013 277 32 204986 15 40 200227 20
adjusted basic eps 112 204986 55 105 200227 53
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 87
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 11 goodwill
group
2014
£m
2013
£m
cost
at 1 january and at 31 december 1710 1710
accumulated impairment charges
at 1 january 179 179
impairment charge 281 —
at 31 december 460 179
opening net book amount 1531 1531
closing net book amount 1250 1531
goodwill arose on three historic acquisitions made by the group the acquisition of littlewoods leisure including the 
littlewoods football pools business in september 2000 amounting to £1452m the acquisition of vernons football 
pools in december 2007 amounting to £203m and the acquisition of ebet online inc in december 2012 of £55m 
the accumulated impairment charges brought forward relate to the goodwill in the football pools segment 
during the year the group carried out its annual impairment review of the carrying value of its goodwill the goodwill 
from the littlewoods leisure and vernons acquisitions is attributed to the football pools segment the recoverable 
amount of the football pools goodwill was estimated to be £1195m and as a result an impairment charge of £281m 
has been expensed to the income statement in administration expenses 
for the purpose of the annual impairment review of the football pools goodwill the recoverable amounts are measured 
based on valueinuse calculated using discounted future cash flows the key assumptions in the valueinuse 
calculations were
 –the cash flow forecasts used are based upon the budget approved by the board for 2015 and on cash flow projections 
for 2016 to 2019 also approved by the board with a terminal value at 2019 calculated in accordance with ias 36 
forecasts assume stabilisation of cash flows in 2015 from 2014 levels and zero growth thereafter through to 2019
 –revenue forecasts for the core football pools business reflect the continued improvement in spend per player from 
core customer numbers the introduction of new customers and acquisition activities the improvement in technology 
following the continued investment in 2014 and the benefits from operating the whole business from a new single 
customer facing fully integrated platform the board believes that the impact of all of those factors will lead to a 
stabilisation of revenues within the core football pools business
 –the terminal value is based on a nil growth rate given the expected stabilisation of profit streams
 –cash flows have been discounted at 83 2013 83 reflecting a marketbased weighted average cost of capital 
appropriate for the football pools cgu and
 –there are no material adverse changes in legislation
management consider that the calculated recoverable amount is most sensitive to changes in the following assumptions 
and notes that the changes to the assumptions below all other variables held constant would cause the indicated 
further impairments
resulting 
impairment
£m
revenue decline of 2 from 2015 budgeted levels and no growth in online revenues from 2014 levels 143
wacc of 10 rather than 83 209
the goodwill from the ebet online inc acquisition is attributed to the sportech racing and digital segment and the 
recoverable amount is estimated to be £64m
for the purpose of the annual impairment review of the ebet online inc goodwill the recoverable amounts are 
measured based on valueinuse calculated using discounted future cash flows the key assumptions in the valueinuse 
calculations were
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
88 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014  –ebitda forecasts are in line with the approved 2015 budget and strategic plans which include a 3 growth rate 
per annum between 2016 and 2019
 –the terminal value is based on a nil growth rate given the expected maturity of the business by 2019 
 –cash flows have been discounted at 83 2013 83 reflecting a marketbased weighted average cost of capital 
appropriate for the cgu and
 –there are no material adverse changes in legislation
management consider that the calculated recoverable amount is most sensitive to changes in the following 
assumptions and notes that the changes to the assumptions below all other variables held constant would cause 
the indicated impairments
resulting
impairment
 £m
negative growth in cash flows of 5 per annum into perpetuity 54
wacc of 10 rather than 83 05
following the impairment review an impairment of £nil was charged to the income statement 2013 £nil 
12 intangible fixed assets
group
customer 
contracts and
relationships 
£m
software
£m
other
£m
total
£m
cost
at 1 january 2014 364 375 212 951
business combination 01 02 — 03
additions — 44 07 51
at 31 december 2014 365 421 219 1005
accumulated amortisation
at 1 january 2014 311 175 31 517
charged during the year 39 32 02 73
at 31 december 2014 350 207 33 590
cumulative exchange differences — 02 04 06
net book amount at 31 december 2014 15 216 190 421
customer contracts and relationships
customer contracts and relationships as at 1 january 2014 are in relation to the acquisition of vernons which have a 
useful life of five years from 1 july 2009 to ebet online inc which have a useful life of four years from 19 december 2012 
and to datatote england limited which have a useful life of four years and eight months from 27 september 2013
during the year the group acquired bump worldwide inc giving rise to the further recognition of customer contracts 
and relationships the useful life is two years from 12 june 2014 
software
included in software are assets under construction with a cost of £17m 2013 £10m accordingly these assets are not 
currently amortised
other intangibles
the group holds a licence in perpetuity to offer parimutuel offtrack betting in the state of connecticut in the usa 
given this licence is in perpetuity the book value of the asset amounting to £163m 2013 £152m is not amortised and 
the useful economic life allocated to the asset is indefinite the asset is allocated to the sportech venues segment and 
has a estimated recoverable amount of £187m the movement in net book value is as a result of movement in exchange 
rates given the asset value is denominated in us dollars as required by ias 36 “impairment of assets” an impairment 
test has been carried out as at 31 december 2014 
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 89
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 12 intangible fixed assets continued 
the recoverable amount of the asset has been determined based on a valueinuse calculation the calculation used 
posttax cash flow projections based on financial budgets and forecasts approved by management covering a fiveyear 
period the following assumptions were made in determining the recoverable amount
 –the cgu was determined to be the assets which require the licence in order to provide offtrack betting to the public 
only the cash flows expected to be generated from these assets were included in the calculation
 –ebitda forecasts are in line with the approved 2015 budget and 2016 to 2019 strategic plans which assume nil growth 
from the 2015 budget the main assumptions include level of handle at each venue and content and takeout fee 
percentages
 –capital expenditure was included in the cash flows at management’s best estimate of industry norm for reinvestment 
in retail outlets of the kind under review
 –cash flows beyond the fifth year were extrapolated using a nil growth rate given the expected stabilisation of cash flows 
over time and
 –a post tax discount rate of 83 was used representing a marketbased weighted average cost of capital appropriate 
for the sportech venues cgu 
management consider that the calculated recoverable amount is most sensitive to changes in the following assumptions 
and notes that the changes to the assumptions below all other variables held constant would cause the indicated 
impairments
resulting
impairment
£m
handle decline in 2016 to 2019 of 2 per annum 41
wacc of 10 rather than 83 24
following the impairment review an impairment of £nil was charged to the income statement 2013 £nil
the remaining net book value of other intangible assets is predominantly spend on the proprietary football pools 
customer database and system which has a remaining useful economic life of six years 
company
software
£m
other
£m
total
£m
cost
at 1 january 2014 157 08 165
additions — 01 01
at 31 december 2014 157 09 166
accumulated amortisation 
at 1 january 2014 34 — 34
charged during the year 10 04 14
at 31 december 2014 44 04 48
net book amount at 31 december 2014 113 05 118
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
90 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 the software held by the company provides parimutuel services to customers in north america management has 
estimated the useful economic life of the asset to be 15 years the net book amount at 31 december 2014 was £113m 
and the remaining life was ten years and nine months 2013 net book amount of £123m and the remaining life was 
eleven years and nine months
group
 customer 
contracts and 
relationships
£m
software
£m
other
£m
total
£m
cost
at 1 january 2013 345 334 218 897
business combination 19 — — 19
disposals — 03 — 03
reclassification — 08 08 —
additions — 36 02 38
at 31 december 2013 364 375 212 951
accumulated amortisation
at 1 january 2013 242 150 28 420
charged during the year 69 25 03 97
at 31 december 2013 311 175 31 517
cumulative exchange differences — — 07 07
net book amount at 31 december 2013 53 200 174 427
company
software 
£m
other 
£m
total 
£m
cost
at 1 january 2013 157 06 163
additions — 02 02
at 31 december 2013 157 08 165
accumulated amortisation 
at 1 january 2013 24 — 24
charged during the year 10 — 10
at 31 december 2013 34 — 34
net book amount at 31 december 2013 123 08 131
amortisation has been included within administrative expenses
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 91
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 13 property plant and equipment
group
short 
leasehold 
land and
 buildings 
£m
long 
leasehold
 and owned 
 land and
 buildings 
£m
plant and 
machinery 
£m
fixtures 
and fittings 
£m
assets in 
the course of 
construction 
£m
total 
£m
cost
at 1 january 2014 01 95 127 10 100 333
additions — — 09 — 40 49
disposals — 01 08 04 — 13
transfer 01 20 75 02 98 —
at 31 december 2014 02 114 203 08 42 369
accumulated depreciation
at 1 january 2014 01 35 69 03 — 108
charged during the year — 06 22 02 — 30
disposals — 01 08 04 — 13
at 31 december 2014 01 40 83 01 — 125
cumulative exchange differences — — 01 01 05 05
net book amount at 31 december 2014 01 74 121 06 47 249
company
short 
leasehold 
land and
 buildings 
£m
 plant and 
machinery 
£m
total 
£m
cost
at 1 january and 31 december 2014 01 02 03
accumulated depreciation
at 1 january and 31 december 2014 01 01 02
net book amount at 31 december 2014 — 01 01
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
92 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 group
short 
leasehold 
land and
 buildings 
£m
long 
leasehold and
 owned land
 and buildings
 £m
plant and
 machinery 
£m
fixtures 
and fittings 
£m
assets in 
the course of 
construction 
£m
total 
£m
cost
at 1 january 2013 01 90 104 08 49 252
additions — 01 05 01 81 88
acquired with subsidiary — 01 03 — — 04
disposals — — 11 — — 11
transfer — 03 26 01 30 —
at 31 december 2013 01 95 127 10 100 333
accumulated depreciation
at 1 january 2013 01 28 56 01 — 86
charged during the year — 07 23 02 — 32
disposals — — 10 — — 10
at 31 december 2013 01 35 69 03 — 108
cumulative exchange differences — 04 01 01 03 09
net book amount at 31 december 2013 — 56 57 06 97 216
company
short 
leasehold 
land and 
buildings 
£m
 plant and
 machinery 
£m
total 
£m
cost
at 1 january and 31 december 2013 01 02 03
accumulated depreciation
at 1 january and 31 december 2013 01 01 02
net book amount at 31 december 2013 — 01 01
14 investments in subsidiaries
group company
investments in group companies
2014 
£m
2013 
£m
2014 
£m
2013 
£m
at 1 january — — 2037 2012
capital contribution — — — 25
at 31 december — — 2037 2037
investments in group companies are stated at cost which is the fair value of the consideration paid 
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 93
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 14 investments in subsidiaries continued
the company is the holding company of the group the following table shows details of the company’s principal 
subsidiaries and joint venture investments
name of company holding
proportion 
of voting 
rights country of incorporation nature of business
sportech gaming limited ordinary shares 100 england and wales holding company
the football pools limited ordinary shares 100 england and wales pools betting and 
gaming services
uk lottery management limited ordinary shares 100 england and wales management 
of charity lotteries
football pools 1923 limited ordinary shares 100 england and wales asset hiring
football pools games limited ordinary shares 100 england and wales pools betting 
and gaming services
datatote england limited ordinary shares 100 england and wales parimutuel wagering
 totalisator services
sports hub private limited ordinary shares 50 india fantasy sports 
games services
sportech racing gmbh ordinary shares 100 germany parimutuel 
systems provision
sportech racing bv ordinary shares 100 netherlands offtrack betting and
 venues management
racing technology ireland limited ordinary shares 100 ireland parimutuel 
systems provision
sportech racing limited ordinary shares 100 turkey parimutuel 
systems provision
sportech inc ordinary shares 100 usa intermediate 
holding company
sportech racing panama inc ordinary shares 100 panama parimutuel 
systems provision
sportech racing llc ordinary shares 100 usa parimutuel 
systems provision
trackplay llc ordinary shares 100 usa parimutuel 
systems provision
sportech – nyx gaming llc ordinary shares 50 usa gaming software 
and services
sportech racing canada inc ordinary shares 100 canada parimutuel 
systems provision
sportech venues inc ordinary shares 100 usa offtrack betting and
 venues management
ss venues california llc ordinary shares 50 usa sports bar owner 
and operator
ebet technologies inc ordinary shares 100 usa online parimutuel
 systems and 
services provision
picklive usa llc ordinary shares 51 usa social gaming
bump worldwide inc ordinary shares 100 canada provision of 
software and 
services for 
5050 raffles
 ownership is directly held by the company sportech plc
all of these companies have been included in the consolidated financial statements a full list of group subsidiaries can 
be found in the company’s annual return available from companies house
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
94 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 15 business combinations
a bump worldwide inc
on 12 june 2014 the group acquired 100 of the issued share capital of bump worldwide inc “bump” a provider 
of electronic charitable raffles conducted during professional sporting events known as “5050 raffles” 
the customers of bump are the charitable foundations of us professional sports teams across the nhl nba nfl 
mls and nascar it is a growing business that will benefit from the greater sales and technology resources available 
following its acquisition by sportech
goodwill arising on the acquisition amounted to £nil
the following table summarises the fair value of consideration paid for bump and the amounts of the assets acquired 
and liabilities assumed recognised at acquisition date
provisional fair value of consideration at 12 june 2014 £m
cash 01
total fair value of consideration transferred 01
recognised provisional fair value amounts of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed £m
intangible assets – software note 12 02 
intangible assets – customer contracts and relationships note 12 01
bank overdraft 01
trade and other payables 01
total identifiable net assets 01
goodwill —
total fair value of consideration transferred 01
contingent consideration
there is potential for contingent consideration of up to £55m to be payable dependant on the bump business’ 
ebitda for the period 1 january 2016 to 31 december 2016 this is split between the following two elements
 –an amount equivalent to the 2016 ebitda earned by bump up to a maximum consideration payable of £47m and
 –if 2016 ebitda earned by bump exceeds £08m an additional contingent consideration will be payable equivalent 
to that excess up to a maximum of £08m
the amount payable is due subsequent to the finalisation of the 2016 financial statements 
the directors have reviewed the potential consideration payable on the above performance requirements 
the expectation is that a sum of £03m will be payable in respect of these performance targets this is treated 
as employment costs under ifrs 3 “business combinations” revised and will accordingly be accrued on a time 
apportioned basis to 31 december 2016 this expectation will be reviewed annually in accordance with ifrs 3 
“business combinations” revised 
acquisition costs
acquisition related costs amounting to £01m have been recognised as an expense in the consolidated income 
statement as an exceptional item see note 2
provisional fair value amounts of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed
the fair values of the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed are considered provisional in nature due to 
the business combination occurring just six months prior to the year end management will continue to monitor the 
provisional values during the year ended 31 december 2015 to ensure any fair value amendments are identified as 
a hindsight adjustment
no contingent liabilities have been recognised as at the acquisition date
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 95
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 15 business combinations continued
bump contribution to the group results
bump has contributed revenues of £02m and a loss of £02m to the group results from the acquisition date 
to 31 december 2014 had the acquisition occurred on 1 january 2014 the group’s revenue for the period ended 
31 december 2014 would have been £1043m and the group’s loss for the year would have been £215m these 
amounts have been determined by applying the group’s accounting policies and adjusting the results of bump to 
reflect additional depreciation and amortisation that would have been charged assuming the fair value adjustments 
to intangible assets had been applied from 1 january 2014
b datatote england limited
on 27 september 2013 the group acquired 100 of the issued share capital of datatote england limited “data tote”
there were no changes to the fair value assumptions applied by management at acquisition during the hindsight period 
in relation to net assets acquired or consideration paid ebitda estimates for the business still indicate that the maximum 
payment of the contingent consideration will be due and payable in august 2016 and is being accrued accordingly
c ebet online inc
management estimates that ebitda targets required to be achieved for any contingent consideration to be paid on 
the acquisition of ebet online inc to be remote and as such the accrual recognised in the balance sheet at 31 december 
2013 has been released in full see note 2
16 investment in joint ventures
the group has the following investments in joint ventures 
group description
country of 
incorporation
year of 
investment
 
holding
sportshub private limited provides a suite of prediction and fantasy 
games centred on cricket football and 
formula 1
india 2008 50
picklive usa llc distribution of picklive’s live fantasy sports 
game across the us
usa 2013 51
sportech – nyx gaming llc provides online products and services in the 
us for social and paytoplay gaming
usa 2013 50
ss venues california llc sports bars with wagering facilities in 
california usa
usa 2013 50
group
2014
£m
2013
£m
at 1 january 05 05
additions 19 02
share of loss after tax 02 02
at 31 december 22 05
despite the group’s 51 ownership in picklive usa llc the entity is considered to be jointly controlled therefore the 
investment is treated as that of a joint venture and its results have been equity accounted in accordance with ifrs 11
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
96 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 the group’s share of the results in its joint ventures which are unlisted and its share of the aggregated assets and 
liabilities are as follows
2014 
£m
2013 
£m
noncurrent assets 15 01
current assets 09 04
total assets 24 05
current liabilities 02 —
net assets 22 05
revenue — —
expenses 02 02
the group’s share of capital commitments amounted to £nil 2013 £nil
17 trade and other receivables
group company
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
trade receivables 68 52 — —
less provision for impairment of receivables 03 03 — —
trade receivables – net 65 49 — —
amounts owed by group companies — — 202 146
other receivables 07 11 01 02
accrued income 13 10 — —
prepayments 19 20 03 05
total 104 90 206 153
other classes of trade and other receivables are not impaired noncurrent trade receivables of £12m 2013 £03m 
relate to accrued income due after more than twelve months
the fair value of trade and other receivables is not considered to be different from the carrying value recorded above 
for either the group or the company 
trade receivables that are less than three months past due are not considered impaired as management considers the 
amounts to be fully recoverable as at 31 december 2014 £01m 2013 £01m of trade receivables were past due and 
not impaired management also considers that these receivables are recoverable in full due to good credit quality
as at 31 december 2014 trade receivables of £03m 2013 £03m were impaired and fully provided for
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 97
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 17 trade and other receivables continued
there was no movement on the group provision for impairment of trade receivables 2013 no movement
the carrying amounts of trade and other receivables current and noncurrent are denominated in the 
following currencies
group company
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
sterling 28 15 31 63
us dollar 58 53 164 82
euro 07 12 11 08
other 23 13 — —
total 116 93 206 153
18 inventories
group
2014
£m
2013
£m
work in progress 02 01
spare parts 11 12
finished goods 02 02
total 15 15
the cost of inventories recognised as an expense and included in cost of sales amounted to £35m 2013 £27m
provisions for obsolescence held against inventories at 31 december 2014 amounted to £01m 2013 £nil
19 deferred tax 
the movement on the deferred tax account is as follows
group company
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
net deferred tax asset at 1 january 07 13 10 13
income statement charge — 01 08 03
business combination — 04 — —
tax creditedcharged directly to equity 01 01 — —
net deferred tax asset at 31 december 08 07 02 10
the tax creditedcharged directly to equity is the deferred tax on the retirement benefit liabilities 
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
98 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 deferred tax assets have been recognised in respect of trading losses and all other temporary differences where it is 
probable that these assets will be recovered deferred tax assets and liabilities are only offset where there is a legally 
enforceable right of offset and there is an intention to settle the liabilities net the movements in deferred tax assets and 
liabilities during the year are shown below
deferred tax assets
group
pension 
£m
capital 
allowances 
£m
losses and
foreign tax
credits 
£m
temporary 
differences 
£m
total 
£m
at 1 january 2013 05 12 11 09 13
income statement chargecredit — 10 06 10 06
tax charged directly to equity 01 — — — 01
at 31 december 2013 04 22 17 19 18
income statement chargecredit — 26 35 14 05
tax credited directly to equity 01 — — — 01
at 31 december 2014 05 48 52 05 14
deferred tax of £nil is expected to be recovered within twelve months 2013 £nil with £14m expected to be recovered 
after more than twelve months 2013 £18m
the deferred tax asset in the company consists of temporary differences of £02m and capital allowances of £nil  
2013 temporary differences of £08m and capital allowances of £02m
the losses in the company have been fully surrendered as group relief in addition to the deferred tax asset which has 
been recognised the group has not recognised further deferred tax assets of £30m 2013 £31m arising from unutilised 
trading losses the directors do not consider there will be sufficient future profits against which these losses can be 
offset due to the low level of trading in these particular business units
expiry of these losses is as follows
2014 2013
gross losses
provided
£m
unprovided
£m
provided
£m
unprovided
£m
in more than four years 150 133 10 140
deferred tax assets are recognised on losses carried forward when it is probable that future taxable profits will be 
generated against which the losses can be utilised
deferred tax liabilities
group
temporary 
differences
 £m
at 1 january 2013 —
business combination 04
income statement charge 07
at 31 december 2013 11
income statement credit 05
at 31 december 2014 06
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 99
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 20 cash and cash equivalents
the fair value of cash and cash equivalents is not considered to be different from the carrying value recorded above 
for either the group or the company 
cash balances of £23m 2013 £21m are held on behalf of customers in respect of certain online and telephone betting 
activities and on behalf of registered charities relating to the sale of charity scratchcards and lotto products these 
balances are excluded from group cash and are netted against a corresponding payable within accruals and deferred 
income note 21
21 trade and other payables
group company
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
trade payables 66 76 03 05
amounts owed to group companies — — 467 404
other taxes and social security costs 06 08 — —
accruals and deferred income 133 127 09 12
total 205 211 479 421
there is no difference between book values and fair values of trade and other payables all amounts are due within 
one year
22 provisions 
group
onerous 
contracts 
£m
other 
provisions 
£m
total 
£m
at 1 january 2013 04 04 08
utilised during the year 01 01 02
at 31 december 2013 03 03 06
utilised during the year — — —
at 31 december 2014 03 03 06
provisions have been recognised where the group has contractual obligations to provide services where the estimated 
unavoidable costs to carry out the obligation exceed the expected future economic benefits to be received other 
provisions include provisions for obligations to reinstate property to its original condition at the start of the lease term 
of the provisions included in the above table £02m is expected to be utilised within twelve months 2013 £02m and 
£04m is expected to be utilised after twelve months 2013 £04m
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
100 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 23 financial liabilities 
group company
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
current
deferred consideration due within one year — 07 — —
group company
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
noncurrent
drawn revolving credit facility due after one year 701 660 701 660
deferred consideration due after one year 05 06 — —
total noncurrent financial liabilities 706 666 701 660
bank loans and revolving credit facility
on 12 may 2014 the group refinanced its multicurrency revolving credit facility of £750m to an £800m revolving 
credit facility bearing interest of libor plus a bank margin dependent on leverage levels initially 30 the borrowings 
are secured by a composite debenture incorporating fixed and floating charges over all assets excluding monies 
standing to credit of trust accounts and undertakings of sportech plc all uk trading companies uk holding 
companies of overseas entities and racing technology ireland limited in addition share charges have been entered 
into in respect of shares in sportech inc sportech venues inc sportech racing llc trackplay llc and ebet 
technologies inc all are us companies 
during the year ended 31 december 2014 the group obtained proceeds from borrowings of £41m 
covenants on the group’s borrowings include a leverage covenant being the ratio of adjusted ebitda to adjusted 
net bank debt and an interest cover covenant being the ratio of adjusted ebita to senior finance charges none of 
the covenants were breached during the period
deferred consideration and contingent consideration
deferred consideration and contingent consideration totalling £11m 2013 £18m £10m 2013 £10m and £55m  
2013 £nil in relation to the acquisitions of ebet online inc datatote england limited and bump worldwide inc 
respectively represent the maximum amounts payable in acquiring these entities the amounts disclosed as due after 
one year of £05m represent management’s best estimate of the consideration that is likely to be paid in acquiring 
those entities recognising the known contractual amounts outlined in note 15 and the amounts accrued to date 
as employment costs under ifrs 3 “business combinations” revised 
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 101
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 24 financial instruments 
financial risk management policies and objectives
the group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks fair value and cash flow interest rate risk liquidity risk 
credit risk and foreign exchange risk where appropriate the group uses derivative financial instruments to hedge 
certain risk exposures
the policy for each of the above risks is described in more detail below
fair value and cash flow interest rate risk
as the group has no significant interestbearing assets the group’s income and operating cash flows are substantially 
independent of changes in market interest rates
the group’s interest rate risk arises from its longterm bank borrowings borrowings issued at variable interest rates 
expose the group to cash flow interest rate risk borrowings issued at fixed rates expose the group to fair value interest 
rate risk the group’s bank borrowings are a multicurrency revolving credit facility with bank of scotland plc barclays 
bank plc and royal bank of scotland plc until august 2018 and at variable interest rates a debt margin payable of 
between 200 and 350 basis points per annum dependent on leverage ratio the group’s policy is to hedge interest rate 
risk where appropriate using interest rate swaps at contract lengths consistent with the expected levels of the longterm 
bank borrowings this policy is a cash flow hedge and is approved by the board and the board receives updates on a 
regular basis in respect of the hedging position 
the group has entered into a number of swap agreements with terms remaining of between one month and two years 
on a total of £200m at an average swap rate before any lending margin of 480 the hedges comprise two £100m 
hedges with expiry dates on january 2015 and january 2016 the contracts are not designated effective hedges and 
as a result gains and losses are recognised in the income statement within finance costs
as at 31 december 2014 the fair value of these interest rate swaps was a liability of £05m 2013 £13m 
at 31 december 2014 if interest rates on borrowings had been 50 basis points higherlower with all variables held 
constant post tax loss for the year would have been £01m 2013 £02m higherlower as a result of higherlower interest 
expense on unhedged variable rate borrowings this sensitivity is considered a reasonable assumption based on current 
economic conditions
liquidity risk
cash flow forecasting is performed on a weekly basis in the operating entities of the group and is aggregated by group 
finance this weekly forecasting recognises committed shortterm payables of the group which are monitored and 
managed through regular discussions with suppliers group finance monitors rolling forecasts of the group’s liquidity 
requirements to ensure each operating entity has sufficient cash to meet operational needs while maintaining sufficient 
headroom on its undrawn committed borrowing facilities at all times so that the group does not breach borrowing limits 
or covenants on any of its borrowing facilities group finance monitors the level of excess cash over and above that 
required for working capital management and ensures the excess is loaned to the uk to minimise the facility required to 
be drawn bank facilities have been agreed at appropriate levels having regard to the group’s operating cash flows and 
future development plans the group’s derivative financial instruments are managed by group finance and the risks of 
loss on those instruments are mitigated through review and regular discussions with external advisors 
credit risk
the group’s uk operation has limited exposure to credit risk transactions within the football pools segment are 
predominantly either weekly cash receipts in advance or multiple weeks in advance by credit card debit card or direct 
debit credit exposure is limited to overseas collection agencies on short credit terms managed centrally by the uk 
finance function the group’s main exposure to credit risk is in accounts receivable in the sportech racing and digital 
segment credit risk in these entities is managed locally by assessing the creditworthiness of each new customer before 
agreeing payment and delivery terms the group does not hold significant amounts of deposits with banks and financial 
institutions amounts held in cash for the sportech venues division are held in highly secure environments
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
102 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 foreign exchange risk
the group operates internationally and is exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from various currency exposures 
primarily with respect to the euro and us dollar foreign exchange risk arises from transactions undertaken in foreign 
currencies the translation of foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities and from the translation into sterling of 
the results and net assets of overseas operations
the group continually monitors the foreign currency risk and takes steps where practical to ensure that the net 
exposure is kept to an acceptable level inter alia by using foreign exchange forward contracts designed to fix the 
economic impact of forecasted profitability at 31 december 2014 the notional principal amounts of foreign exchange 
forward contracts outstanding were nil 2013 20m at 31 december 2014 the fair value of these forward contracts 
was £nil 2013 £nil no charge or credit has thus been recognised in profit and loss arising from fair value movement 
2013 £nil
the average rate of the us dollar during the year was 165 and the euro was 124 if the us dollar had averaged at 16 
and the euro at 12 loss after tax would have been £212m and net assets would have been £1136m at 31 december 2014
hedging instruments
group company
current liabilities
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
interest rate swaps – cash flow hedges 05 13 05 13
the above financial instruments are carried at fair value the level 2 valuation method is used the valuation methods are 
summarised as follows
 –level 1 – quoted prices adjusted in active markets for identical assets or liabilities
 –level 2 – inputs other than quoted prices included within level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability either 
directly that is as prices or indirectly that is derived from prices and
 –level 3 – inputs for the assets or liabilities that are not based on observable market data that is unobservable inputs
the fair value of financial instruments that are not traded in an active market for example overthecounter derivatives 
is determined by using valuation techniques these valuation techniques maximise the use of observable market data 
where it is available and rely as little as possible on entity specific estimates if all significant inputs required to fair value 
an instrument are observable the instrument is included in level 2 if one or more of the significant inputs is not based 
on observable market data the instrument is included in level 3
the fair value of interest rate swaps is calculated as the present value of the estimated future cash flows based on 
observable yield curves note that all of the resulting fair value estimates are included in level 2
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 103
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 24 financial instruments continued
capital risk management
the group’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the group’s ability to continue as a going concern 
in order to provide returns for shareholders benefits for other stakeholders and to achieve an efficient capital structure 
to minimise the cost of capital
in order to maintain or adjust the capital structure the group may adjust the amount of dividends paid to shareholders 
return capital to shareholders issue new shares or sell assets to reduce debt
the group monitors capital on the basis of the gearing ratio this ratio is calculated as net debt divided by total capital 
net debt is calculated as total financial liabilities including current and noncurrent as shown in the consolidated 
balance sheet less cash and cash equivalents total capital is calculated as equity as shown in the consolidated balance 
sheet plus net debt
the group’s strategy has been to target a reasonable level of gearing for a group of sportech’s size and industry 
presence the board considers gearing of between 20 and 40 to be appropriate during 2014 net debt including 
deferred consideration reduced by £04m 06 2013 increased by £01m 02 gearing has remained relatively 
static as the cash generated by the group from operations during the year has been offset by cash used to purchase 
tangible and intangible assets invest in joint ventures and to fund the costs incurred in refinancing the group’s 
borrowings the total net debt and gearing ratios at 31 december 2014 and 2013 were as follows
note
2014
£m
2013
£m
total financial liabilities 23 706 673
less cash and cash equivalents 20 63 26
net debt 643 647
total equity 1198 1397
total capital 1841 2044
gearing ratio 35 32
fair value of noncurrent borrowings
group company
as at 31 december 2014
book value 
£m
fair value 
£m
book value 
£m
fair value 
£m
bank borrowings due after one year 701 650 701 650
group company
as at 31 december 2013
book value 
£m
fair value 
£m
book value 
£m
fair value 
£m
bank borrowings due after one year 660 657 660 657
the fair values are based on cash flows discounted at a rate of 83 2013 83 and are within level 2 of the fair value 
hierarchy future interest payments are £30m payable within one year 2013 £30m £30m payable between one and 
two years 2013 £20m and £50m payable between two and five years 2013 £nil
maturity of bank borrowings
bank borrowings are repayable as follows
group company
contractual undiscounted amount
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
between one and two years — 660 — 660
between two and five years 701 — 701 —
total 701 660 701 660
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
104 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 the maturity analysis of derivative financial liabilities is as follows
group company
contractual undiscounted amount
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
within one year 09 30 09 30
between one and two years — 05 — 05
between two and five years — — — —
total 09 35 09 35
the maturity analysis of nonderivative financial liabilities is as follows
group company
contractual undiscounted amount
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
within one year 238 231 479 421
between one and two years 08 04 — —
between two and five years 701 681 701 660
total 947 916 1180 1081
borrowing facilities
the group had the following undrawn committed borrowing facilities available as follows
2014
£m
2013
£m
floating rate
– expiring beyond one year 99 90
total 99 90
financial asset and liabilities
the group had the following categories
2014
£m
2013
£m
loans and receivables 85 70
financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss
– designated post refinancing 05 13
financial liabilities measured at amortised cost 706 673
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 105
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 25 ordinary shares
authorised issued and fully paid
2014 2013
ordinary shares of 50p each 2013 50p ’000 £m ’000 £m
at 1 january 204851 1024 198810 994
new shares issued to satisfy psp vesting 370 02 6041 30
at 31 december 205221 1026 204851 1024
potential issue of ordinary shares 
sportech share option schemes
certain directors and senior executives hold options to subscribe for shares in the company at prices ranging from 
£0817 to £1064 2013 £0817 to £1064 under sportech share option schemes approved by the shareholders share 
options at the end of the period had a weighted average exercise price of £0888 2013 £0888 the number of shares 
subject to options the periods in which they were granted and the periods in which they may be exercised are given 
below there were no movements in the year
year of grant
exercise 
price
exercise 
period
outstanding at 
31 december 
2014 and 2013 
number
2005 september £0817 2008–2015 505050
2006 march £1064 2009–2016 202020
total 707070
the options are exercisable at any time during the sevenyear period commencing three years from the date of the 
grant the company has no legal or constructive obligation to settle the options in cash the weighted average 
remaining contractual life of outstanding share options under the sportech share option scheme at 31 december 2014 
was eleven months 31 december 2013 one year and eleven months
exercise of the 2005 options is subject to the share price reaching the following closing prices at any time during the 
exercise period
shares closing price
151515 £1237
151515 £1732
101010 £2227
101010 £2722
505050
exercise of the 2006 options is subject to the share price reaching the following closing prices at any time during the 
exercise period
shares closing price
50505 £1732
75757 £2227
75758 £2722
202020 
the market price of the ordinary shares at 31 december 2014 was £0670 2013 £0815 and the range during the year 
was £0923 to £0480 2013 £1080 to £0690
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
106 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 options are granted with a fixed exercise price equal to the market price of the shares under option at the date of the 
grant options were valued using the blackscholes option pricing model no performance conditions are included in 
the fair value calculation the fair value per option granted and the assumptions used in the calculations are as follows
2005 2006
riskfree interest rate 418 440
vesting period 3 years 3 years
option life 10 years 10 years
expected life of options 5 years 5 years
expected share price volatility 6629 4861
dividend growth — —
fair value of option £0556 £0601
the expected volatility is based on historical volatility over the last three years the expected life is the average expected 
period to exercise the riskfree rate is based on bank of england bonds of a term consistent with the assumed option 
life dividend growth is based on historical dividends over the last three years
the performance share plan “psp”
certain executive directors and senior executives have been awarded grants to acquire shares in the company under 
the psp subject to performance conditions during the year ended 31 december 2014 2329000 shares have been 
awarded 2013 2406000 1095000 awards lapsed due to failure to meet the performance conditions 2013 
1649000 732000 awards lapsed due to employees ceasing to be employed by the group 2013 674000 and no 
awards were cancelled during the year 2013 nil 811000 shares vested during the period of which 583000 remain 
unexercised as at 31 december 2014 7229000 2013 8608000 share awards remained outstanding unvested at 
31 december 2014
performance conditions
the remuneration committee can set different performance conditions from those described below for future 
awards provided that in the reasonable opinion of the remuneration committee the new targets are not materially 
less challenging in the circumstances than those described below the remuneration committee determines the 
comparator group for each award
the remuneration committee may also vary the performance conditions applying to existing awards if an event has 
occurred that causes the remuneration committee to consider that it would be appropriate to amend the performance 
conditions provided that the remuneration committee considers the varied conditions are fair and reasonable and not 
materially less challenging than the original conditions would have been but for the event in question
the awards are at nil cost to the employee awards will normally vest on the third anniversary of the date of grant 
subject to the participants’ continued employment within the group and the satisfaction of the performance conditions 
noted below
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 107
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 25 ordinary shares continued
2014 and 2013 grants
the vesting of onehalf of the award “part a” will be dependent on the company’s total shareholder return “tsr” 
over a fixed threeyear period beginning on the date of grant relative to that of the ftse small cap index excluding 
investment trusts for the purpose of calculating tsr the base figure is averaged over the six weeks preceding the 
start of the performance period and the end figure is averaged over the last six weeks of the performance period
no portion of part a will vest unless the company’s tsr performance at least matches that of the index thereafter 
a vesting schedule no less demanding than the following will apply
the company’s tsr performance over the performance period relative to comparator index extent of vesting of part a
equal to the index 25
between equal to the index and upper quartile pro rata between 25 and 100
upper quartile or better 100
the vesting of the second half of the award is dependent on an eps performance criterion “part b” the average annual 
percentage growth in the company’s eps in excess of the uk retail prices index “rpi” over the eps performance 
period must at least equal 4 vesting is determined by the following schedule
the company’s average annual growth in eps in excess of rpi during the performance period extent of vesting of part b
less than 4 per annum 0
4 per annum 25
between 4 and 10 per annum pro rata between 25 and 100
10 or better 100
2012 and 2011 grants
the vesting of onethird of the award “part a” will be dependent on the company’s total shareholder return “tsr” 
over a fixed threeyear period beginning on the date of grant relative to that of the ftse small cap index excluding 
investment trusts for the purpose of calculating tsr the base figure is averaged over the six weeks preceding the 
start of the performance period and the end figure is averaged over the last six weeks of the performance period
no portion of part a will vest unless the company’s tsr performance at least matches that of the index thereafter 
a vesting schedule no less demanding than the following will apply
the company’s tsr performance over the performance period relative to comparator index extent of vesting of part a
equal to the index 25
between equal to the index and upper quartile pro rata between 25 and 100
upper quartile or better 100
the vesting of the second onethird of the award “part b” will be dependent on the company’s absolute tsr over 
the same performance period as for part a the tsr calculation is the same as that for part a with the exception that 
the final figure for the purpose of calculating tsr is the highest sixweek average over the final year of the performance 
period vesting is determined by the following schedule
the company’s compound annual tsr during the performance period extent of vesting of part b
at least 6 25
between 6 and 15 pro rata between 25 and 100
15 or better 100
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
108 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 the vesting of the final third of the award is dependent on an eps performance criterion “part c” the average annual 
percentage growth in the company’s eps in excess of the uk retail prices index “rpi” over the eps performance 
period must at least equal 4 vesting is determined by the following schedule
the company’s average annual growth in eps in excess of rpi during the performance period extent of vesting of part c
less than 4 per annum 0
4 per annum 25
between 4 and 10 per annum pro rata between 25 and 100
10 or better 100
for employees who are responsible for the management of “sportech racing” sportech racing and digital and 
sportech venues the above performance criteria are applicable in the following fractions 
part a – twoninths
part b – twoninths
part c – twoninths
a further performance criteria is applicable for the final third of the award “part d” being the average annual 
percentage growth in sportech racing’s ebitda over the performance period must equal at least 10 vesting is 
determined by the following schedule
sportech racing’s average annual growth in ebitda during the performance period extent of vesting of part d
less than 10 per annum 0
10 per annum 25
between 10 and 20 per annum pro rata between 25 and 100
20 or better 100
all psp grants
awards are valued using a stochastic monte carlo valuation model the fair value per award granted and the 
assumptions used in the calculations are as follows
grant date
sep
2014
mar
2014
may
2013
march
2013
march
2012
december
2011
february
2011
exercise price £nil £nil £nil £nil £nil £nil £nil
number of employees 
issued awards 1 23 1 70 47 22 3
share price at award date £0780 £0888 £0900 £1000 £0513 £0399 £0425
expected term fixed 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years
expected volatility 282 282 296 296 331 339 395
dividend yield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
fair value of award £0704 £0704 £0844 £0844 £0407 £0301 £0346
the weighted average remaining contractual life of outstanding awards under the psp at 31 december 2014 was one 
year and one month 2013 one year and five months the weighted average exercise price of awards granted during 
the period was £nil 2013 £nil 
psp awards are not affected by the riskfree rate input since no payment is required by the recipient and therefore 
no interest could be earned elsewhere
the expected volatility is based on movements in the historical return index share price with dividends reinvested 
for the three years prior to the award date the dividend yield does not affect the fair value of the award as the rules 
of the psp entitle a participant to receive cash equal in value to the dividends that would have been paid on the 
vested shares in respect of dividends paid during the vesting period and is therefore assumed to be 0
see notes 6 and 7 for the total expense recognised in the income statement for share options granted and psp awards 
made to directors and employees respectively
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 109
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 26 cash generated from operations
reconciliation of lossprofit before taxation to cash generated from operations before exceptional costs
group company
note
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
lossprofit before taxation 200 53 75 119
adjustments for
exceptional costs 2 23 27 08 14
share of loss after tax of joint ventures 16 02 02 — —
depreciation 13 30 32 — —
amortisation of acquired intangibles and impairment 
of goodwill 11 12 322 72 — —
amortisation of other intangibles 12 32 25 14 10
net finance costs 4 28 43 39 49
other finance income 4 03 08 03 08
share option expense 6 06 15 06 15
movement in retirement benefit liability 31 02 02 — —
movement in provisions 22 — 02 — —
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment 13 — 01 — —
loss on disposal of intangible assets 12 — 03 — —
gift of shares to ebt — — 02 30
changes in working capital
increase in trade and other receivables 21 04 53 57
decrease in inventories — 02 — —
decreaseincrease in trade and other payables 13 19 73 211
cash flows from operating activities before 
exceptional costs 204 244 11 145
 2013 balances include cash flows attributable to discontinued operations
noncash transactions
there were no significant noncash transactions during the year 2013 £nil
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
110 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 27 contingent assets and liabilities
contingent assets
the board has previously announced that the group had submitted a claim for in excess of £400m to hmrc for the 
repayment of vat overpaid in respect of the “spot the ball” game from 1979 to 1996 interest may also be added to 
the principal sum claimed which if successful given the timeframe of the claim could increase the sum claimed to 
approximately £960m following a successful outcome at the firsttier tax tribunal an appeal by hmrc was heard 
at the upper tribunal in april 2014 and the group was informed in september 2014 that hmrc’s appeal had been 
successful the group has appealed this verdict and the appeal will be heard at the court of appeal in the week 
commencing 2 november 2015 accordingly the claim has not been recognised in the group’s financial statements
contingent liabilities
the group has contingent liabilities in respect of legal claims in the ordinary course of business it is not considered 
that any material liabilities will arise from these
in respect of the acquisitions of ebet online inc on 19 december 2012 datatote england limited on 27 september 
2013 and bump worldwide inc on 12 june 2014 additional consideration is payable under certain circumstances as 
outlined in note 15
28 commitments
capital commitments
the group had no contracts placed for capital expenditure that were not provided for in the financial statements 
at the current or prior year end dates
operating lease commitments
the group leases various offtrack betting venues and other operating sites under noncancellable operating lease 
arrangements the lease terms are generally between three and five years and are renewable at the end of the lease 
period at market rates the expenditure charged to the income statement was £20m 2013 £20m
the future aggregate minimum lease payments under noncancellable operating leases are as follows
group company
2014
£m
2013
£m
2014
£m
2013
£m
no later than one year 20 19 01 01
later than one year and no later than five years 46 41 07 07
later than five years 65 02 — 01
total 131 62 08 09
29 other financial commitments
in december 1996 an incentive scheme to reward football pools collectors was established by a subsidiary company 
under the terms of the scheme the collectors earn points on the basis of their sales these points can be converted into 
vouchers to purchase items from high street shops on the basis of similar schemes a redemption rate attributable to 
these points has been established and an appropriate charge made in these accounts the potential liability in respect 
of these points not provided for in these financial statements is £02m 2013 £04m this liability has not been provided 
for as it is the judgement of management that it will never crystallise
the group was required to enter into a performance guarantee bond in october 2010 which is reviewed annually 
for 15 of the contract value being 180000 at 31 december 2014 in relation to a contract to provide and maintain 
parimutuel betting terminals to a customer in turkey
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 111
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 30 related party transactions
the extent of transactions with related parties of sportech plc and the nature of the relationships with them are 
summarised below
a key management compensation is disclosed in note 7
b the company had the following transactions with subsidiaries during the year
2014
£m
2013
£m
management charges received 14 13
royalty income received 15 16
management charges paid 01 01
interest received on intercompany loan balances 04 02
interest paid on intercompany loan balances 16 10
the amount outstanding in relation to management charges at the balance sheet date was £01m 2013 £01m and 
the net amount outstanding for interest receivable on intercompany loan balances was £07m 2013 £02m all inter
company transactions are on an arm’slength basis 
c  the company had no transactions during the year and therefore no amounts outstanding at year end with any of 
its joint ventures 2013 £nil and £nil respectively the group invested the following amounts into each of its joint 
ventures during the year
2014
£m
2013
£m
sports hub private limited 02 02
sportech – nyx gaming llc 09 –
ss venues california llc 06 –
picklive usa llc 02 –
total invested in joint ventures note 16 19 02
d  scientific games corporation “sgc” was a 1999 shareholder in sportech plc until the disposal of 100 of 
its holding on 9 january 2014 sgc is therefore considered to be a related party until this date there were no 
transactions with sgc from the previous year end date to the date of disposal 
31 pension schemes
the group operates four pension schemes in the uk for employees other than those employed by data tote a defined 
contribution scheme a funded defined benefit scheme and from april 2014 an autoenrolment scheme for qualifying 
employees who are not members of the first two schemes data tote operates a defined contribution scheme the 
group operates a further funded defined benefit scheme in the usa two defined contribution schemes in the usa 
a defined contribution scheme in the netherlands and a defined contribution scheme in ireland
summary of pension contributions paid
2014 
£m
2013 
£m
defined contribution scheme contributions 07 07
defined benefit scheme contributions 03 02
total pension contributions 10 09
defined contribution schemes
in the uk those employees who joined the group consequent to the acquisition of littlewoods gaming formerly 
littlewoods leisure and who were aged under 50 on 4 september 2000 and all other uk employees of sportech plc 
apart from data tote – see below can join either a stakeholder pension scheme established on 6 april 2001 or alternate 
defined contribution arrangements or the autoenrolment scheme group contributions are made at a maximum rate of 
8 of pensionable salaries data tote contributions are made at a maximum rate of 6 of pensionable salaries
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
112 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 a defined contribution scheme for nonunionised employees including ebet is operated in the usa into which the 
group contributes 375 of the first 6 of participant contributions a further defined contribution scheme is available 
for unionised employees the group does not make contributions into this scheme 
a registered retirement savings plan “rrsp” exists for employees in canada the group matches to a limit of 50 
of the first 6 of participant contributions 
the pension scheme in the netherlands provides benefits to employees on a percentage of salary basis 
the group contributes 75 of salary less state pension allowance which is currently ¤12000 per annum into a defined 
contribution scheme for employees in ireland
in germany the approach adopted resembles life insurance cover rather than pension provision gross salary is reduced 
by a specified amount which is transferred to the insurance provider this is taxefficient for the employee 
for employees in france and turkey all pensions cover is provided through employer and employee social security 
contributions
defined benefit schemes
pursuant to the sale agreement between littlewoods plc and sportech plc a defined benefit scheme was set up for 
those employees who joined the group consequent to the acquisition of littlewoods gaming formerly littlewoods 
leisure and who were aged 50 or over on 4 september 2000 the date of the acquisition the scheme was formed on 
6 april 2001 and is governed by a definitive trust deed and rules it is a registered pension scheme under chapter 2 
of part 4 of the finance act 2004 the scheme is contracted out of the state second pension scheme the scheme is 
currently not open to new members
the us defined benefit scheme is administered by an insurance company in the usa and provides retirement benefits 
to employees who are members of a collective bargaining unit represented by the international brotherhood of electrical 
workers benefits are based on value times credited service
the amounts recognised in the balance sheet were as follows
2014 
£m
2013 
£m
fair value of plan assets
– uk 20 18
– usa 28 25
total fair value of assets 48 43
present value of the schemes’ liabilities 64 56
deficit in the schemes 16 13
included in
– noncurrent liabilities 16 13
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 113
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements 31 pension schemes continued
the figures below have been determined by qualified actuaries at the balance sheet date using the 
following assumptions
usa
 2014
uk
 2014
usa 
 2013
uk 
2013
discount rate 375 34 45 44
rate of increase in salaries na 0 na 50
rate of increase in pensions in payment
– 5 lpi na 315 na 35
– rate of inflation na 315 na 35
– mortality table 2014 irs 
static 
mortality 
table
s1nxa 
cmi 2012 
projections 
15 per 
annum  
longterm 
rate of 
improvement
2013 irs 
static 
mortality 
t able 
s1nxa 
 cmi 2012 
 projections
 15 per 
annum 
longterm 
rate of
 improvement
for the usa scheme under the adopted mortality tables if the future life expectancy were to be plusminus one year 
the liabilities would increasedecrease by £15000
for the uk under the adopted mortality tables if the longterm rate of mortality improvement were to be 125 the 
liabilities would decrease by £30000
for the uk if the discount rate were to be increased to 365 the liabilities would decrease by £70000 for the us if 
the discount rate were to be increased to 425 the liabilities would decrease by £191000
the movement in the defined benefit obligation over the year is as follows
present value 
of obligation
 £m
fair value of
 plan asset 
£m
total 
£m
at 1 january 2013 59 43 16
current service cost 02 — 02
interest expenseincome 02 02 —
income statement expenseincome 04 02 02
remeasurements
– currency exchange movements 01 — 01
– gain from change in actuarial assumptions 03 — 03
04 — 04
contributions
– employer’s — 01 01
payments from plans
– benefit payments 03 03 —
at 31 december 2013 56 43 13
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 december 2014
114 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 present value
 of obligation 
£m
fair value of
 plan asset 
£m
total 
£m
at 1 january 2014 56 43 13
current service cost 02 — 02
interest expenseincome 02 02 —
income statement expenseincome 04 02 02
remeasurements
– currency exchange movements 02 02 —
– loss from change in actuarial assumptions 04 — 04
06 02 04
contributions
– employer’s — 03 03
payments from plans
– benefit payments 02 02 —
at 31 december 2014 64 48 16
effect of change of assumptions on liability values
changes in the financial assumptions used would have the following approximate effect on the schemes’ liabilities and 
hence the deficit at the end of the year
change
2014 
increases
 liability by 
£m
2013
 increases 
liability by 
£m
increase inflation by 025 2013 025 01 01
the assets of the uk scheme are held in an independent trustee administered fund the trustee of the scheme is 
sportech trustees limited the directors of sportech trustees limited include carl lynn a sportech employee who also 
acts as chair of the trustee company the assets of the us scheme are held by an insurance company
the actuarial method for calculating the liabilities of the scheme is the projected unit method
the expected employer annual contributions to the schemes for the financial year ending 31 december 2015 amount to 
£02m year ended 31 december 2014 £04m
estimated future benefit payments for the next ten fiscal years for the us scheme are
at 31 december 2014
less than 
a year 
£m
between 
1 and 2 years 
£m
between 
2 and 5 years 
£m
over 5 years 
£m
total 
£m
pension benefits 01 03 07 48 59
the weighted average duration of the us scheme obligation is approximately twelve years 
estimated future benefit payments for the next ten fiscal years for the uk scheme are
at 31 december 2014
less than 
a year 
£m
between 
1 and 2 years 
£m
between 
2 and 5 years 
£m
over 5 years 
£m
total 
£m
pension benefits 01 01 02 — 04
the weighted average duration of the uk scheme obligation is approximately twelve years
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 115
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements head office
sportech plc
101 wigmore street
london w1u 1qu
company registration number
sc069140
company secretaries
luisa wright
cliff baty
uk operational centre
the football pools
walton house
charnock road
liverpool l67 1aa
usa operational centres
sportech inc
555 long wharf drive
new haven ct 06511
sportech racing and digital
1095 windward ridge parkway
building 300 suite 170
alpharetta ga 30005
registered office
sportech plc
collins house
rutland square
edinburgh eh1 2aa
financial advisers and joint stockbroker
investec bank uk ltd
2 gresham street
london ec2v 7qp
joint stockbroker
peel hunt llp
moor house
120 london wall
london ec2y 5et
principal bankers
bank of scotland plc
10 gresham street
london ec2v 7ae
barclays bank plc
1 churchill place
london e14 5hp
royal bank of scotland plc
280 bishopsgate
london ec2m 4rb
solicitors
freshfields bruckhaus deringer llp
65 fleet street
london ec4y 1hs
olswang llp
90 high holborn
london wc1v 6xx
statutory auditors
pricewaterhousecoopers llp
chartered accountants and statutory auditors
1 embankment place
london wc2n 6rh
registrars
capita registrars ltd
the registry
34 beckenham road
beckenham
kent br3 4tu
internet
the group operates a website which can be found at 
wwwsportechplccom this site is regularly updated to 
provide information about the group in particular all of 
the group’s press releases and announcements can be 
found on the site
registrar
any enquiries concerning your shareholding should 
be addressed to the company’s registrar the registrar 
should be notified promptly of any change in a 
shareholder’s address or other details
tel 0871 664 0300
email ssdcapitaregistrarscom
investor relations
requests for further copies of the annual report and 
accounts or other investor relations enquiries should 
be addressed to the uk head office
tel 020 7268 2400
email irsportechplccom
shareholder and 
corporate information
116 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 designed and produced  
by merchantcantos 
wwwmerchantcantoscom our iconic brands
sportech racing and digital • sportech venues 
the football pools • winners • runnerz
our offices and operational centres
london • liverpool • connecticut • atlanta • toronto 
new jersey • bristol • dublin • the hague • essen
sportech plc
101 wigmore street 
london w1u 1qu 
wwwsportechplccom
sportech plc  annual report and accounts 2014


Summary:
            technology
implement technology 
to drive operational 
performance
           stabilise           
stabilise and 
grow ebitda
more
contracts
more 
contracts 
with greater 
margins
continue 
venue roll out
       based on licences 
       in ct and ca
enhance
profitability
                enhance profitability       
from existing and       
future ventures       
cash flow from core businesses strength of existing relationships and regulatory footprint drive future opportunities
opportunities
igaming and sports 
betting as regulation 
permits
opportunities
new venues online mobile and slots
opportunities
grow a trusted brand
sportech
racing
and
digital
the
football
pools
sportech venues
responsibility    expertise    trust
overview
the group’s strategy is to build a multi
platform gaming business in the us using the 
legal regulated horseracing and greyhound 
operations as a base to position the group 
for broaderbased gaming opportunities as 
regulation develops 
the group comprises three divisions racing 
and digital venues and football pools all 
of which focus on horseracing and football 
markets the racing and digital and venues 
divisions are based in the united states 
where we are licensed by gaming regulators 
in 28 states employing 700 people across 
field operations and four corporate offices 
the football pools is the oldest football 
gaming business in the world and through 
its classic pools product together with a 
range of pools and casino games it 
generates strong cash flows
strategic progress
during 2014 the group has made further 
progress in delivering its strategy this includes 
entry into the new jersey online gaming 
market through sng interactive our joint 
venture with nyx this is an important first 
step for the business in the largest us state 
to have legalised online gaming to date and 
provides a platform for future growth as online 
regulation develops across the us in our 
venues business we opened a 10000 sq ft 
sports bar and restaurant in our bradley venue 
which is attracting a younger more diverse 
customer base in connecticut we also 
launched the state’s only legal online betting 
site mywinnerscom the group obtained 
key regulatory approvals for new sports bar 
restaurant and betting venues in stamford 
connecticut and san diego and norco in 
california refinement of venues expansion 
plans is ongoing and development is subject 
to the group’s available capital resources 
the racing and digital business has secured 
a number of new contracts in the year 
including the supply of a new tote system 
and digital technology to totepool in the uk 
however we have been informed that our 
contract with the californian racing authorities 
to process bets across the state will not be 
renewed at the end of october 2015 
chief executive’s review
positioning sportech as one of the 
leaders in the global betting market
the group’s strategy is to develop 
sportech’s position as one of the leading 
companies in the regulating us and global 
betting industry in 2014 we have continued 
to invest in developing our strategic position 
in the us technology and gaming markets 
whilst modernising our football pools 
business positioning us for future growth
business model
04 sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 this difficult trading environment is 
expected to continue in 2015 but we 
remain confident in the longterm value 
within the venues business 
vat claim
in september the upper tribunal ruled in 
favour of her majesty’s revenue  customs 
“hmrc” in hmrc’s appeal case relating to 
a vat repayment claim on the “spot the ball” 
game this followed the initial ruling last year 
of the firsttier tribunal in sportech’s favour 
the group has been granted permission 
to appeal to the court of appeal which 
will be held in the week commencing 
2 november 2015
outlook
racing and digital and football pools are 
trading in line with expectations trading in 
our venues business remains challenging 
with amounts wagered below prior year levels 
as a result of a lack of racing due to the cold 
weather in north east usa the group 
launched operations in its online gaming 
joint venture in february the board remains 
confident in the group’s prospects for the 
full year ahead
ian penrose
chief executive
4 march 2015 
the group is confident that it will be able 
to substantially mitigate the impact of this 
contract loss through cost saving and revenue 
generating actions
during the year the group strengthened 
its capability in online technology with the 
appointment of rich roberts to head its 
digital operations in the us including sng 
interactive and mywinnerscom rich has 
recruited an experienced team to drive 
progress in this important growth area 
2014 performance
turning to the performance of our three 
divisions our racing and digital business 
has shown ebitda growth following the 
investments made in technology and products 
over recent years the football pools has 
made further progress in modernisation of 
its systems and development of its customer 
offering and is moving towards stabilisation 
of direct channel revenues 
however venues profits fell in 2014 due to 
reduced wagering revenues combined with 
increased content costs and startup losses 
at bradley whilst disappointing the fall in 
connecticut revenues has been in line with 
us industrywide wagering handle and our 
venues have performed better than similar 
facilities in the north east of america 
core business growth investment future plans 
strategic  
priorities 
modernising core business 
to secure cash generation
 –stabilise football pools 
revenues from 2015 
 –increase group’s digital 
earning capabilities
using cash from stable core 
business for investment
 –drive value from exclusive 
licences in connecticut 
 –invest in innovation and 
new technologies
capitalise on opportunities 
as markets regulate
 –be first to market 
and capitalise on 
regulatory change
 –continuous leadership in 
technology enhancement
progress in 2014 –football pools modernisation 
including new web platform
 –new racing and digital 
contracts including totepool
 –opened venue in bradley 
connecticut
 –secured regulatory approvals 
for new venues in ct and ca
 –continually monitoring 
opportunities for slots in ct
 –foundations laid for igaming 
development in us
priorities for the future –stabilise football pools 
revenues and earnings
 –focus on improved margins 
via technology enhancement
 –finalise plans for stamford 
san diego and norco based 
on available capital resources
 –first entry into igaming with 
resorts in new jersey
 –lobbying in us 
states to position for 
regulatory change
sportech plc annual report and accounts 2014 05
strategic report
corporate governance
financial statements