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Article: Rolled over; The lottery; Branson loses the lottery.(Britain)(Sir Richard Branson's empire seems set to suffer a double blow)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 23, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IT WILL not be a merry Christmas for Britain's most famous entrepreneur. On Tuesday December 19th, Sir Richard Branson found out that he had lost his bid to run Britain's National Lottery. The government-appointed lottery commission awarded the franchise for the second seven-year term to the existing operator, Camelot. And it looks increasingly unlikely that he will win his bid to take over the running of the main east coast railway, to add to his existing portfolio on the rails.
Sir Richard has good grounds for feeling aggrieved at not getting the lottery, and he might yet appeal against the decision in the courts. Camelot's chances of getting the franchise ...