Sportech appears to have struck a deal to sell its Football Pools business to a group led by Sportingbet founder Mark Blandford.

On Tuesday, Sportech announced that it had entered into an exclusivity deal with venture capital firm Burlywood Capital, which is seeking to acquire The Football Pools business for a total cash consideration of £97.25m. Sportech cautioned that there was no guarantee the deal would go through.

Burlywood, which was founded by Blandford (pictured) and investment banker Andrew Burnett, says it will fund The Football Pools acquisition via a combo of institutional investors’ equity and a new debt facility.

Burlywood plans to form a new company that will apply for a listing on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) index. This company will be chaired by ex-Sportech man Ian Hogg, while current Football Pools managing director Conleth Byrne will serve as CEO. Brian Mattingley, chairman of 888 Holdings, will serve as non-executive director.