BOOKIES Neville Porter last night said the future for the business remained bright despite being forced to refinance and restructure to get it through "very hard times".

The County Durham company has sold its UK racecourse pitches to managing director Neville Porter for £350,000, who will now lease the stakes back to the Alternative Investment Market-listed business.

The firm, which floated on the junior stock market just over a year ago, has been forced to cut its cost base after a downturn in business, particularly in its Chester-le-Street call centre and online operations, which the company attributes as a knockon effect of the global market turmoil.

Mr Porter said the refinancing move - which was approved by the shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting - had been taken to ensure the long-term success of the business, but acknowledged the plc would probably fall short of its £14m turnover target for this year.

"We are going through some very hard times at the minute, which I think is being felt by the whole sector - it's being felt by everyone. The refinancing was the best way to raise additional cash while the company still retained the pitches.

"Instead of us just selling our assets, the company now gets the best of both worlds - we have immediate cash and still keep the pitches as part of the business.

"We think, and the shareholders have voted, that this is the best way of going forward and it gives the company the best possible base to build for the future.

"Although we can't talk exact facts and figures, it's safe to say that if you want to limit your losses, you maybe have to run back on turnover a bit to avoid your profitability taking such a hit. We have just got to do the best we can, but we have got to be sensible."

Mr Porter said that the company's stakes at Galway and Leopardstown, in Ireland, which have previously been hailed as being key to Neville Porter's success, continue to flourish, but no races will be held at the courses until later in the year.

"Things there are still very, very good. We have no complaints at all about how it's going - the only thing is that there's nothing on now until September, but hopefully we'll have quite a bit of revenue coming in then,"

said Mr Porter.