International Sports-Betting operator heading back to the UK high street.

The betting-shop brand, which held fourth place in the British league table until William Hill bought its 624 outlets in June 2005, will be seen again in new premises at 24a North John Street, Liverpool, from 14th February 2014.

“It’s an entirely appropriate venue to reintroduce the Stanleybet name to the UK,” says John Whittaker, Chief Operating Officer of parent company Stanley International Betting, which have more than 2,000 betting outlets in seven European countries.

“We’ve been a Liverpool-based company for over 35 years, and the new shop is close to the Cavern Club, one of the iconic sites that have made the city world famous. So we’re getting back to the heart of our own streets.”

The new shop will herald a fresh approach by Stanleybet, taking its lead from their retail success in Europe by combining familiar products with a fresh focus on Continental football betting.

Andrew Liles, Stanleybet Group Managing Director, explains: “We want to concentrate on what we’ve successfully established as one of the biggest retail sports-betting operators in Europe.”

“We will offer customers the traditional British fare of horseracing, greyhound racing and products such as numbers betting and terminals, but we will also put a lot of emphasis on betting on Italian, German and Spanish football, which we cover in our Stanley International Betting outlets.

“The shop will have two distinct zones – the traditional area and another more focused on European sports betting.”

Andrew Liles adds: “We’re going to give customers everything they will find in a modern betting shop but with a widened sports-betting offer, which is what we do elsewhere.”

Stanleybet have other UK projects in the pipeline, starting in the North West and moving out to the North East, but there is no timetable for expansion and no target number.

John Whittaker explains: “We used to have 624 betting shops. We have no aspiration to get anywhere near that size again. Instead, we’re looking to develop a relatively small chain of quality outlets.

“The previous Stanley company gave customers a service, and it was a very good service, but it was once described to me as ‘a community-based business’, because we had lots of shops on estates and near pub car parks. That is not what we envisage now.

“We’re being selective, aiming to be in the high street and high-end, secondary street locations.

“Once we establish the Stanleybet brand again, opportunities will arise, and we will be ready to take advantage.”