Ladbrokes Coral
Betting & Gaming
Post-Merger Integration | Scaled Agile Transformation
From Merger Chaos to 96% Employee Satisfaction
How we transformed delivery across a newly merged FTSE 100 gaming giant - coordinating 400+ people, accelerating time-to-market by 187%, and creating what stakeholders called "the best scaled agile implementation they'd ever seen."
187% Faster Delivery
284% More Reliable
50%→85% Success Rate
96% Satisfaction
Internal Capability Built
At a Glance
Client: Ladbrokes Coral (merged entity, FTSE 100)
Industry: Gaming & Betting - Digital Sportsbook, Casino, Retail
Challenge: Transform delivery capability post-merger across multiple brands and suppliers
Duration: Multi-year transformation (2016-2019)
Services Delivered
→ Delivery Transformation (scaled agile implementation)
→ Training & Certification (entire product and delivery organisation, including C-suite)
→ Governance & Coordination Design (multi-brand, multi-supplier)
→ Internal Coaching Development (sustainability)
Key Results
◘ 400+ engineers, product managers, and trading teams coordinated
◘ Time-to-market accelerated 187% (14 weeks → 5 weeks)
◘ System reliability increased 284% (12 incidents/month → 3)
◘ On-time delivery improved from 50% to 85%
◘ Employee satisfaction jumped from 61% to 96%
◘ Internal capability built to sustain transformation
The Starting Point: Two Companies, One Chaos
When Ladbrokes and Coral merged in 2016, it created one of the UK's largest betting and gaming companies. But combining two major brands with different cultures, systems, and ways of working created organisational chaos.
Post-Merger Reality:
Two separate technology stacks. Different delivery approaches. Competing priorities. Multiple external suppliers working in silos. No coordination mechanism. Teams didn't know if they were "Ladbrokes teams" or "Coral teams" or "merged teams." Confusion reigned.
Delivery Dysfunction:
Before our engagement, delivery was unpredictable and frustrating. Only 50% of committed work was delivered on time. Production incidents were frequent (averaging 12 per month). Teams were demoralised - engagement surveys showed 61% satisfaction, well below industry norms. Best performers were leaving.
The Supplier Challenge:
Multiple technology suppliers served different parts of the business. Each operated independently with different processes and priorities. Finger-pointing was common. Dependencies caused constant delays. No one took ownership of end-to-end outcomes. Integration across suppliers seemed impossible.
Cultural Disconnect:
Teams felt like ticket factories rather than value creators. There was no clear connection between their daily work and business objectives. Strategic priorities existed somewhere in the organisation, but they didn't translate into team-level clarity. People worked hard but couldn't see the impact.
Leadership Pressure:
The board expected merger synergies and improved performance. Instead, delivery capability had actually declined post-merger. Leadership needed transformation - not incremental improvement, but fundamental change in how the merged organisation delivered value.
What Was At Stake:
The merger's success depended on technology delivery capability. Competitors were moving faster. Customer expectations were rising. If Ladbrokes Coral couldn't deliver digital capabilities quickly and reliably, the merger value proposition would fail. The pressure was immense.
How We Delivered: Prove, Scale, Sustain
We didn't try to transform the entire merged organisation on day one. We started focused, proved value, then scaled systematically.
Phase 1: Prove It Works (Digital Sportsbook)
The Challenge:
Digital Sportsbook was the highest-profile, highest-pressure part of the business. Approximately 25 teams working across both Ladbrokes and Coral brands, plus multiple suppliers. If we couldn't make it work here, it wouldn't work anywhere.
What We Did:
We implemented a scaled agile approach - what we call "pseudo-SAFe" - adapted specifically for the gaming industry context. This wasn't textbook SAFe implementation. We took SAFe principles and adapted them to fit Ladbrokes Coral's reality: fast-moving market, regulatory constraints, multiple brands, supplier ecosystem.
Establishing Coordination:
We created Programme Increment planning sessions that brought together all 25 teams, including supplier teams, for synchronised planning every 10-12 weeks. This was the first time teams from both brands and all suppliers had planned together. Dependencies that previously caused delays were now identified and managed proactively.
Creating Alignment:
We connected strategic priorities to team-level work. Product managers could articulate how features supported business objectives. Teams understood why their work mattered. This wasn't just process - it was creating meaning and purpose.
Training Everyone:
We didn't just train delivery teams. We trained product managers, engineering leaders, and critically, the C-suite including the CEO and COO. Having executive-level understanding of scaled agile practices is rare in FTSE 100 companies - but it was essential for sustainable transformation.
The Proof:
Within six months, Digital Sportsbook showed dramatic improvement. Time-to-market dropped. Reliability improved. Team morale lifted. Most importantly, the business saw tangible value. This proof became the foundation for broader scaling.
Phase 2: Scale Systematically
The Challenge:
Success with Digital Sportsbook created demand to scale across the entire organisation. But each area had different characteristics: Trading teams operated differently from Casino teams. Omnichannel had different constraints than purely digital teams. Retail was entirely different again.
What We Did:
We scaled the transformation systematically, one area at a time, adapting our approach to each context:
Trading Teams: Driven by quants and algorithmns, these teams had a unique operating rhythmn. We adapted ceremonies and cadences to fit their reality while maintaining coordination with Digital Sportsbook.
Casino Teams: Separate product line with different technology stack. We established their own Agile Release Trains while creating lightweight coordination with Sportsbook where dependencies existed.
Gaming Teams: Similar approach - establish their own scaled agile structure, coordinate where necessary, maintain autonomy where beneficial.
Omnichannel Teams: These teams touched both digital and retail, requiring careful coordination across channels. We created cross-functional structures that respected channel differences while enabling unified customer experiences.
Retail Teams: The final and most challenging area. Retail operations worked very differently from digital. We adapted agile principles to fit retail realities - you can't "sprint" a physical shop refit the same way you deploy software.
Maintaining Consistency:
While we adapted to each area's context, we maintained consistent principles: outcome focus, collaborative planning, transparency, continuous improvement, and coordination across boundaries.
Phase 3: Build Sustainability
The Challenge:
Transformation is worthless if it dies when consultants leave. We needed to build internal capability to sustain and evolve what we'd created.
What We Did:
From the beginning, we focused on building internal champions who could carry the transformation forward after we transitioned out.
Developing Internal Coaches:
We identified natural leaders across the organisation and developed them into internal agility coaches. We didn't just train them - we pair-coached them through real situations, gradually transitioning facilitation responsibility. By the end, they were coaching other teams independently.
Creating Communities of Practice:
We established communities where Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and agile coaches could share learnings, solve problems together, and support each other. These communities became self-sustaining networks for continuous improvement.
Documenting the Approach:
We captured the adapted "Ladbrokes Coral way" of working - not a rigid playbook, but principles and practices that worked in their context. This became the onboarding material for new teams and new hires.
Embedding Continuous Improvement:
We didn't just implement process - we embedded a culture of continuous improvement. Regular retrospectives at team and program level. Metrics that showed progress. Permission to experiment and adapt. This meant the organisation continued improving after we left.
Measured Business Outcomes
400+ People Coordinated Across Brands and Suppliers
We transformed how 400+ engineers, product managers, and trading teams worked together. Multiple brands (Ladbrokes, Coral), multiple suppliers, multiple product lines - all coordinated through scaled agile practices. Dependencies that previously caused chaos were now managed proactively. Collaboration replaced finger-pointing.
Time-to-Market Accelerated 187%
Delivery speed improved dramatically from an average of 14 weeks to 5 weeks for features to reach production. This wasn't just faster delivery - it was faster VALUE delivery. Customers saw new capabilities nearly three times faster. Competitive advantage improved measurably.
System Reliability Increased 284%
Production incidents dropped from an average of 12 per month to just 3 per month. Improved quality meant less firefighting, which meant more capacity for value delivery, which created a virtuous cycle. Operations teams spent less time on crisis management and more time on strategic improvements.
On-Time Delivery Improved from 50% to 85%
Before transformation, only half of commitments were met. After transformation, 85% of commitments were consistently delivered on time. This restored trust between technology and business stakeholders. Planning became meaningful because plans could be relied upon.
Employee Satisfaction Jumped from 61% to 96%
This might be the most significant result. Teams went from demoralised and disengaged (61% satisfaction) to highly engaged and proud (96% satisfaction). People felt purpose in their work. They could see their impact. They enjoyed collaborating across boundaries. Talent retention improved dramatically.
Secondary Benefits
Cultural Transformation
The transformation created a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement that extended beyond delivery teams. The entire product and technology organization adopted these principles.
Supplier Relationship Revolutionised
What started as adversarial supplier relationships became collaborative partnerships. Suppliers were integrated into planning and delivery, creating shared accountability for outcomes rather than siloed responsibility for outputs.
Internal Capability Built
Ladbrokes Coral developed internal coaches and champions who could sustain and evolve their delivery approach. They weren't dependent on consultants - they owned their transformation.
Industry Recognition
Senior stakeholders from both Ladbrokes Coral and supplier companies called this "the best scaled agile implementation they'd ever seen." This recognition boosted confidence and attracted talent.
Merger Value Realised
The transformation enabled Ladbrokes Coral to realise the technology synergies promised in the merger business case. Combined capability exceeded what either company could deliver separately.
In Their Words
"Agilicist didn't just change our processes, they changed our culture. They took two merged companies with different ways of working, multiple suppliers operating in silos, and created genuine collaboration and coordination. The transformation wasn't about implementing a framework - it was about fundamentally changing how 400+ people worked together to deliver value. Time-to-market improved by 187%, but more importantly, our people went from demoralised to energised. That cultural shift is what made the business outcomes sustainable."
- Ladbrokes Coral Director of Product
Prove Then Scale Approach
We didn't try to transform everything at once. Starting with Digital Sportsbook, proving value, then scaling systematically to other areas gave us credibility and learning. Each phase built on previous success.
Context-Specific Adaption
We didn't implement textbook SAFe. We adapted scaled agile principles to fit gaming industry realities: fast-moving markets, regulatory constraints, supplier ecosystems, and brand complexities. "Pseudo-SAFe" worked because it was designed for their context.
Training Beyond Delivery Teams
Training the entire product and delivery organisation - including CEO and COO - created organisation-wide understanding and support. When executives understand agile principles, they make better decisions and remove obstacles more effectively.
Supplier Integration
Including suppliers in Program Increment planning and treating them as partners rather than vendors transformed relationships. Shared planning created shared accountability. Coordination replaced conflict.
Building Internal Champions
Developing internal coaches who could sustain and evolve the transformation was essential. Without internal capability, organisations become consultant-dependent. With it, they continue improving independently.
Multi-Year Commitment
Real transformation takes time. Ladbrokes Coral committed to multi-year change, not a quick fix. This patience enabled deep cultural change, not just process compliance.
Critical Success Factors
Delivery Transformation
End-to-end transformation across multiple brands and product lines. Scaled agile implementation (adapted SAFe) for 400+ people. Program Increment planning, Agile Release Trains, and coordination mechanisms.
Training & Certification
Comprehensive training across the entire product and delivery organisation, including C-suite. Product management, Scrum Master, and agile leadership training. Rare to train CEO/COO in FTSE 100 company.
Governance & Coordination Design
Created governance structures for multi-brand, multi-supplier coordination. Programme-level planning and tracking. Dependency management across teams.
Internal Coaching Development
Identified and developed internal champions to sustain transformation. Pair-coached them through real situations. Built community of practice for ongoing support.
Similar Transformations
Facing Similar Challenges?
If your organisation is dealing with:
Post-merger integration with different cultures and processes
Multiple suppliers or partners that need coordination
Delivery teams disconnected from business strategy
Low morale and engagement in technology teams
Need to scale agile across multiple product lines or brands
We can help. The Ladbrokes Coral transformation required coordinating 400+ people across brands, suppliers, and product lines - while fundamentally changing culture and delivering measurable business outcomes.
Book a free consultation to discuss:
Your specific merger integration or scaling challenges
How scaled agile might work in your context
What's required to achieve similar results
Whether our approach fits your culture and constraints