Bookie’s £5.7m hit

PADDY Power Betfair said the cost of last year’s merger left it nursing annual losses of £5.7m, despite an 18pc jump in revenues.

The group said the deal to bring Paddy Power together with online rival Betfair in February 2016 cost it £318m. But chief executive Breon Corcoran hailed a ‘transformational year’ and said integration of the businesses was completed sooner and more efficiently than expected.

sales soared to £1.6bn and profits were up 44pc to £330m. It is preparing for next week’s Cheltenham Festival by offering racing fans a series of sweeteners.