A successful punt on England to win the 1966 football World Cup provided some of the readies to start BetFred, the Dones’ chain of bookmakers. Their father had been an illegal bookie and the brothers doubled turnover at their first betting shop within just nine months. There are now 1,300 BetFred premises and the pair have also done well from Peninsula, a separate business providing HR and health and safety consultancy services to SMEs. Fred’s entrepreneurial career was nearly cut short in his late 20s when he was stabbed five times by a customer who had lost a £50 bet.