Bookies 2

LADBROKES Coral have revealed last weekend’s Floyd Mayweather fight against Conor McGregor was their biggest betting event outside the Grand National.

Jim Mullen said support for Irishman McGregor “took us by surprise” as bets on the Irishman outstripped amounts wagered on his undefeated veteran opponent.

But he said Mayweather’s victory in the fight in Las Vegas saved the group from a “bloody nose”. Despite the boost, the firm said the start of the football season would be the “crucial sporting action” for the next six months.

The group, formed in a £2.3billion merger last November, posted a seven per cent rise in profits to £158.3million for the six months to the end of June. up 65.4 at 7430.6 GKN GlaxoSmithKline Halfords Hays HSBC Imperial Brands International Airlines Grp ITV Kingfisher Land Securities Legal & General Lloyds Marks & Spencer Morrison National Grid Next Old Mutual Pearson Prudential Reckitt Benckiser 318.9 1533.5 322.9 183.0 750.5 3200.5 611.5 158.6 298.9 1010.0 260.2 63.8 319.6 246.0 974.7 4129.0 207.5 606.5 1815.5 7332.0 -0.3 +16.5 +9.6 +10.1 +1.4 +12.0 +10.5 +1.7 +3.4 +10.5 +0.9 +0.2 +2.1 +0.8 +9.0 +83.0 +1.6 +2.0 +26.0 +33.0 Oil = $52.26 RELX 1691.0 Rentokil Initial 304.5 Rio Tinto 3746.5 Rolls-Royce 914.0 Royal Mail 394.2 RSA 666.5 RBS 251.9 J Sainsbury 235.6 SSE 1425.0 Severn Trent 2269.0 Serco 117.7 Sports Direct 388.0 Shell 2160.5 Sky 956.0 Smith & Nephew 1397.0 Smith WH 1849.0 Stagecoach 167.1 Standard Chartered 770.0 Standard Life Aberdeen 429.6 TalkTalk 200.9 Taylor Wimpey 200.5 +26.0 +4.5 +67.5 +4.5 +3.7 +1.0 +3.4 -0.2 +17.0 +16.0 +9.0 +0.7 +2.0 +4.5 +18.0 +4.0 +2.9 -2.5 -0.2 +1.5 +2.7 Tesco Thomas Cook Unilever United Utilities Vodafone Trinity Mirror CHOO CHOOSER Liz Hurley 180.9 125.6 4519.0 910.0 221.4 97.0 -1.5 +1.6 +57.5 -1.0 +2.8 0.0