BOOKMAKER Neville Porter yesterday revealed the company is to "substantially" outperform its £14m annual turnover target with all three branches of the business exceeding expectations.

The County Durham firm said predictions for its recently-launched internet betting site and call centre, as well as for its on-site racecourse pitches, had gone "out of the window" after several months of successful trading.

Neville Porter, founder and owner of the business, said: "Everything is going fantastically well at the minute. The business has really moved onto another level. We are definitely going to be substantially above expectations for this year."

The company, based in Chester-le-Street, launched its website - www.npbet.co.uk - and call centre in April, which Mr Porter predicted would generate about £7m this year, but it took about £2m in May alone.

Mr Porter said the actual revenue was set to dwarf predictions, with both the site and call centre attracting hundreds of customers, and plans in place to expand the size of the call centre.

The website is being promoted on two leading odds comparison websites alongside international bookmakers, including Ladbrokes and Coral.

The firm - which joined the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in March - has also increased its number of on-site betting pitches in recent months, including branching out into Leopardstown and Galway courses in Ireland, which Mr Porter said would generate significantly more revenue than the £6m the company had predicted.

Mr Porter said this week would also be significant for the business, with it running two pitches at the Royal Ascot race meeting for the first time.

"We are on course for this to be a massive year for us," he said.

"We are concentrating heavily on the internet and call centre side of the business, both of which are going tremendously well.

"Recently, with becoming an AIM-listed company, our brand has gone onto a different level. The amount of business we are doing is beyond any expectations we had."

Mr Porter said that while the business had no plans to branch out further, and would concentrate on increasing the operations already in place, it was on the lookout to increase its stakes in Ireland.

"We are looking at getting a couple of pitches at Curragh and Punchestown courses, but as yet we haven't been able to get hold of them," he said.

"However, if the right ones come along at the right price, we'll be sure to take them, although for now, we will be concentrating on consolidating what we already have."