BOOKMAKER Neville Porter is predicting further growth on the back of its ongoing Irish expansion, which is regarded as being "key" to the company's future success.

The County Durham company, which earlier this year became the first UK bookmaker to set up a stake in Ireland, has seen its profile in the country rise since buying pitches at Galway and Leopardstown racecourses in March.

Neville Porter, founder and owner of the Chester-le-Street company, has predicted the pitches to generate significantly more than the £6m he predicted for the year, with the bookmaker adding that its £14m annual group turnover target had now "gone out of the window".

Yesterday, Mr Porter revealed the business had taken bets of more than 550,000 Euros (£372,000) during the Galway Summer Festival - one of the key events in the Irish racing calendar - which it attended for the first time in the company's 27-year history.

The AIM-listed company also said it operated at margins of 20.4 per cent during the seven-day racing event - almost double the average 12 per cent recorded at Irish racecourses.

Releasing a statement to the Stock Exchange yesterday, the company said its Irish expansion was a central aspect of the business.

"The presence of Neville Porter plc on-course at Galway is key to the company's strategy of gaining wider acceptance and recognition within the Irish market and strengthening the Neville Porter brand name as a leading, long-established independent bookkeeper," it said.