UK Tote Group appoints two NEDs to Board

Tuesday 26th July 2022

• Lord Spencer of Alresford and Mark Holt join UK Tote Board

Today the UK Tote Group announces the appointment of Lord Spencer of Alresford and Mark Holt as NEDs to its Board.

Both individuals bring valuable experience and significant expertise from the business world. This will support the UK Tote’s ongoing growth with the focus on product innovation, better value, improved customer experience and strong partnerships to create more liquidity and bigger pools.

Lord Spencer is one of the Tote’s 150+ investors as well as one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs having founded both interdealer broker ICAP plc which became a FTSE100 company in 2006 and its successor company electronic markets services provider, NEX plc. NEX was sold to the US company, CME Group in 2018 since which time, Michael has focused on investing in early stage companies through his private investment company, IPGL.  In recent years, IPGL has made significant investments in a range of exciting companies across different sectors and geographies, including wealth management, life insurance, cyber security, femtech, English wine and the Tote. 

In addition to acting as a board director of a small number of private companies, in 2020 Michael became Chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies. He was nominated for a life peerage in the 2020 Political Honours list and was created Baron Spencer of Alresford in September 2020.

Mark Holt joins the Tote as a Tech NED and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team. Passionate about technology, Mark worked his way up through a wide range of tech-based companies until he became CTO at CPA Global in 2012. In 2014, he moved on to become CTO of Trainline where he was part of the executive leadership team and led an industry-acclaimed technology transformation of the business. Mark is now Chief Product and Engineering Officer at 10X Banking Technologies Services, a financial services company with a mission to move banks from monolithic to next-generation core banking solutions delivered through modern technology. He is also a NED at Camelot and Chairman at Divrsity which is developing actionable ways to measure ED&I insights.

John Williamson, Chairman of the UK Tote Group, said: “During an exciting time of growth for the Tote we are delighted to appoint Lord Spencer and Mark to the UK Tote Group Board. Michael has been an investor in the Tote from the outset and continuing to share his unrivalled experience across the business world as a Board member will be an incredibly valuable support to our team. Mark’s technological expertise will be of significant benefit as we continue to develop and improve the Tote’s pool betting engine. Both Michael and Mark will support our outstanding executive team and the excellent work of our 170 employees in our Wigan HQ and London office.”

For more information about the UK Tote Group please visit www.uktotegroup.com and follow us @UKToteGroup and @ToteRacing.

ENDS.

For further information, please contact:

Susannah Gill
Communications and Corporate Affairs Director
UK Tote Group
susannah.gill@uktotegroup.com
07751 870 929

Notes to editors

Lord Spencer of Alresford

Lord Spencer is one of the Tote’s 150+ investors as well as one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs having founded both interdealer broker ICAP plc which became a FTSE100 company in 2006 and its successor company electronic markets services provider, NEX plc. NEX was sold to the US company, CME Group in 2018 since which time, Michael has focused on investing in early stage companies through his private investment company, IPGL.  In recent years, IPGL has made significant investments in a range of exciting companies across different sectors and geographies, including wealth management, life insurance, cyber security, femtech, English wine and the Tote. 

In addition to acting as a board director of a small number of private companies, in 2020 Michael became Chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies. He was nominated for a life peerage in the 2020 Political Honours list and was created Baron Spencer of Alresford in September 2020.

Mark Holt

Passionate about technology, Mark worked his way up through a wide range of tech-based companies until he became CTO at CPA Global in 2012. In 2014, he moved on to become CTO of Trainline where he was part of the executive leadership team and led an industry-acclaimed technology transformation of the business.

Mark is now Chief Product and Engineering Officer at 10X Banking Technologies Services, a financial service company with a mission to move banks from monolithic to next-generation core banking solutions delivered through modern technology. He is also a NED at Camelot and Chairman at Divrsity which is developing actionable ways to measure ED&I insights.

Images of Lord Spencer and Mark Holt are available upon request.

About UK TOTE GROUP

UK Tote Group is the proud owner and steward of the Tote, the UK’s leading pool betting operator.

The Tote has been a core part of British horseracing since 1928 when it was established by Parliament under Winston Churchill as Chancellor of the Exchequer, to provide the public with a safe way to bet and vital funding for the sport.

UK Tote Group is committed to fulfilling Churchill’s founding mission through a revitalised Tote which provides better value and an improved experience to customers, as well as funding for British horseracing. 

The 90-year-old British company is backed by racehorse owners and breeders from around the world. It has an exclusive partnership with British racecourses to provide pool betting services to the six million people who attend race meetings in Great Britain every year, alongside an alliance with Tote Ireland.

The Tote employs 170 people who are based in the Tote’s main office in Wigan and a satellite office in London.

Please visit www.uktotegroup.com and www.tote.co.uk/about-us for more information.