Done launched his firm with a single betting shop in Salford in 1967 and his retail estate, based mainly in the north and Midlands, did not reach 100 shops until 1997. It rose to 200 shops within another three years and continued a rapid expansion to more than 1,000 outlets after the 2005 Gambling Act legalised £100-a-spin gaming machines – known as FOBTs – in high-street premises.

Like many other familiar names in bookmaking, Betfred has attracted criticism from some online punters for restricting stakes on racing and sports bets to as little as a penny while also allowing – or actively encouraging – restricted punters to gamble on fixed-margin gaming products instead. It has also been fined several times by the Gambling Commission for breaches of social responsibility and money-laundering rules, including a £2.87m penalty in September 2022 when a customer “was allowed to lose £70,000 over a 10-hour period just a day after opening an account”.

Meanwhile, Animal Rising – a rebrand of the protest group Animal Rebellion – has confirmed its determination to disrupt the Grand National on Saturday with an on-track protest. Last week, an undercover investigation by the Mail on Sunday appeared to reveal a plot by “up to 100” protesters to break into the course and glue themselves to the track before the big race on 15 April.

“Protest is a fairly common thing in a democracy and there’s nothing new about it,” Animal Rising’s spokesman Ben Newman told GB News on Tuesday. “We’ll be using our bodies and that’s all there is to it.”

A statement by Merseyside police after the publication of the Mail on Sunday report said plans are in place to prevent disruption to the race.