M & S finance exec joins Betfair

Marks and Spencers’ loss is online gambling group’s gain.

Betfair has added some retail experience muscle to its board of directors with the appointment this week of Marks and Spencers finance exec Ian Dyson as an independent non- executive director.

The appointment of Dyson was immediately seen by industry observers as further proof that Betfair will soon seek a public listing .

The company recently hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley to review its options, which include a possible GBP 1.5 billion ($2.4 billion) share sale, the Sunday Times reported January 24, although Victoria Palmer-Moore, an external spokeswoman for the company, declined to comment .

Founded 11 years ago by Andrew Black and Edward Wray, Betfair says it processes more than 6 million transactions a day from 3 million registered customers, generating revenue from sports betting, online casino and poker games.

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