It would take a brave man to bet against Boylesports chief executive John Maguire meeting his target of making the company number two in the Irish market, writes Jamie Smyth.

By his own admission, Mr John Maguire, the chief executive of bookmaker Boylesports, likes the odd punt on the gee-gees. But, fresh from preparing a successful flotation for the high-flying Irish technology firm, BCO Technologies, few punters would have considered him the obvious choice to take a traditional Irish bookie into the new Millennium.

But two-and-a-half years after accepting the top job at Boylesports, many in the industry believe Mr Maguire may be the financial whiz who can lead Boylesports into big money and, perhaps, even the public markets.

"I consider that my talents lie in change management," says Mr Maguire, a burly Belfast-born weightlifter who doesn't look like the kind of guy you would pick an argument with over a few bob.

"Basically that means thinking of better ways of doing things and sorting out any problems in business. . . Business reorganisation is what I do best.

"When I came to Boyle's two- and-a-half years ago, we had just 33 shops and no significant telebetting or internet operations. There was very little structure and we were essentially a small company.

"John Boyle brought me in to bring a new structure to the business and, initially at least, to look at a large takeover, which the chain was considering at the time. This takeover would have doubled the size of the company in one go."

Most observers within the bookmaking industry believe the acquisition target then was Stanleys, although this has never been confirmed by the two companies. After lengthy due diligence and a strategy rethink, Mr Maguire and the company's founder, Mr Boyle, decided not to go ahead with the multimillion-euro deal.

Mr Maguire says he now has few regrets about this decision.

"I don't think our management structures were quite there at that time to handle that size of deal. We are now vastly different to the way we there then and have massively increased our revenues."

Boylesports has added 28 shops to the chain since Mr Maguire joined the firm and plans to open another 24 shops this year to propel the firm to number two in the market, behind Paddy Power.

Most of the shops have been new builds in a range of locations. Following this strategy, the firm last week opened a flagship shop at the bottom of Grafton Street, beside Molly Malone's statue.

"It is cheaper to set up yourself rather than acquire an existing business. But sometimes a bookmaker may have a perfect location and then we would try to buy it," says Mr Maguire, who is considered a "shrewd Northerner" by the turf accountants south of the Border.

The aggressive growth strategy pursued by Boylesports for its shops is mirrored at two other divisions of Boylesports, which Mr Maguire has pushed hard since joining the company. He has co-ordinated the firm's move onto the Web by setting up an internet betting site, www.boylesports. com, and is heavily promoting its telebetting service in Britain as well as the Republic.

"We expect our annual turnover in the 12 months to the start of April 2003 to be many times higher than in the same period two years ago," says Mr Maguire.

Revenue figures supplied by Boylesports to The Irish Times show the group generated turnover of €56 million in the year to April 2001 and €110 million in the year to April 2002. Boylesports expects to generate revenues of at least €180 million in the year to April 2003 because of the extra shops and the growth in telebetting and the internet.

The firm has established a presence in the British telebetting market - providing bets over the telephone - and will seek to expand this division later this year.

But rapid expansion doesn't come cheap in the bookmaking game and Boylesports is spending about €250,000 fitting out each of its bookmaking shops. Every shop in the company's chain features cinema-style screens and the latest audio-visual technology to ensure a good experience for the punter.

Boylesports is one of the new generation of bookmakers attempting to shed the seedy, smoky image of gambling. Placing a bet should be as much fun and as socially acceptable as going to the cinema or eating a burger, according to the chic new television advertisements that Boyle's began last year to sell its product.

"Our shops all have the most modern facilities including air conditioning, carpet and male, female and disabled toilets. All our shops have at least 22 TV screens," says Mr Maguire. "And, where there is space, we also provide soft chairs and free tea, coffee and biscuits."

Customer surveys prepared every year by Boylesports show comfort is becoming increasingly important for punters. According to Mr Maguire, people want to relax when they bet and the new shops are beginning to attract different types of clients, including professionals and even women.

Breaking the mould is second nature for Mr Maguire, who grew up on the nationalist Cliftonville Road and later ended up working for two of the most predominantly Protestant businesses in Northern Ireland, the famous Harland & Wolff shipyard and Polarcup Packaging in loyalist Portadown.

"I never had any problems while working for these companies," says Mr Maguire, who has worked in a wide variety of businesses, including the electronics and technology industries, and the more traditional textile business.

The family home in Dundalk enables Mr Maguire and his wife to make frequent trips to the North, where he indulges his continuing passion for GAA and boxing.

A graduate of Queen's University Belfast, Mr Maguire is also a past member of Ardoyne GAA club, where he played hurling and football. In later life - at the age of 38 - he took up powerlifting and, within two years, was an Ulster champion.

"Nowadays I go for walks or swimming to keep myself fit. I also play the odd game of snooker," says Mr Maguire.

He admits to having become a bit bored with manufacturing and cites this as one of the reasons for his move to Boylesports. But he believes this broad industry experience has added to his strengths.

"I found it was a very worthwhile experience working at Harland & Wolff. At the time I was there, it was a business with about 5,500 people and there were huge issues working in such a competitive industry as shipbuilding."

Ironically, a similar type of cutthroat competition exists in the domestic bookmaking industry at present, as the Irish incumbents continue to fight off the march of the British multiples. Paddy Power's flotation also increased the tempo of expansion in the industry as its war chest of €30 million could be used for British acquisitions or a domestic dog fight.

"It's a very competitive environment in Ireland and we are suffering some disadvantages with our British counterparts.

"The UK government recently relaxed the bookmaking laws and bookies there can now put slot machines in their shops. . . We can't offer any other businesses or even sell tea."

The current 2 per cent betting tax in the Republic and a 1 per cent charge on bets, which is paid to the horseracing authorities, is also a problem, says Mr Maguire, who believes the Government should abolish this tax and adopt a similar approach to Britain. A failure to abolish the tax will only result in all Irish bookmakers keeping their telebetting and internet arms overseas. It may not be the best thing for the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, to do politically, acknowledges Mr Maguire, but it is the right decision for industry.

Boylesports's lofty ambition to become the second-biggest player in the Irish market and extend its reach into the UK telebetting market later this year will require sound management but also cash.

Mr Maguire says the firm will consider a public flotation in the future to raise additional cash to finance this expansion. Indeed, the financial experience he gained working on the flotation of BCO Technologies is likely to have been one of the key reasons Mr Boyle asked him to join the team. But there will be no IPO in the immediate future, according to Mr Maguire.

"At this point in time, we don't need additional funding unless there is a change in circumstance, like a big acquisition," he says. "But we will go the UK later this year and dip our toe in the water."

Considering his track record, and his considerable boxing and powerlifting talent, it would take a brave man to bet against Mr Maguire. Certainly, the rest of the bookmaking industry will be keeping an eye on Boylesports.