FOOTBALL Pools firm Sportech may bid again for parts of the Tote betting empire when it is sold off by Government.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday unveiled a £16bn programme of asset sales as part of a deficit reduction plan to bring down the massive state debt built up during the recession.

Some £3bn of assets are planned to be sold off over the next two years – including Wigan-based bookmaker Tote, the Channel Tunnel rail link and the Student Loan book.

The Government is also set to sell its 33% stake in uranium processing firm Urenco, which employs 300 people at Capenhurst, near Chester.

Last year, Sportech said it wanted to buy the horse racing pool betting arm of the Tote. The Government invited bids for the Tote last July, but in October said it was shelving the sale as market conditions were not appropriate.

A source close to Sportech yesterday told LDP Business that the group would be interested in bidding again for parts of the Tote.

Sportech owns the Littlewoods, Vernons and Zetters pools brands – now badged under new brand The New Football Pools.

Football pools declined massively in popularity after the launch of the National Lottery in 1994, but Sportech says there is still a strong market for the game. In March, it posted its first net rise in the number of pools players for 15 years.

Speaking last year, Sportech chief executive Ian Penrose said he believed that combining football and horse racing pools would give the company a powerful new platform for growth.

He said Sportech would consider partnering with other companies to split up the Tote.

He said: “We think that, by combining the pool betting activities of the two largest sports in the world, we can create a really interesting business.”

Urenco’s Capenhurst centre includes three plants producing enriched uranium used by nuclear power stations around the world to generate electricity.

A third of Urenco’s shares are held by the Dutch government. Another third is split between energy companies RWE and E.ON, while the remaining third is now to be sold off by the UK government.

Announcing the sell-off yesterday, Mr Brown said much of the rest of the £16bn will be realised by encouraging local authorities to exchange assets for cash.