Ladbrokes, Britain’s biggest bookmaker, today reported a 13 per cent rise in profits as punters bet on English football clubs' progress in the European Champions League.

The company said in a trading statement that gross win in the four months to April 31, 2008, rose by 16 per cent, stripping out contributions from high-stakes gamblers. In total, including larger bets, gross win rose by 34 per cent.

Ladbrokes reported that profits from its "high-roller" clients reached £40 million during the four months but warned that activity had recently fallen to minimal levels.

The group said there was “particularly strong” growth in football betting, driven by a high-profile TV advertising campaign featuring former football players Ian Wright, Ally McCoist and Lee Dixon, and three English football clubs making the semi-finals of the European Champions League.

In contrast, Ladbrokes reported a small decline in its gross win on horse racing, with the major festivals generally positive despite the Grand National result, which saw joint favourite, Comply or Die, triumph.

Chris Bell, chief executive at Ladbrokes, said the group is “mindful of general economic conditions”, adding: "We’re not recession proof but we are recession robust. Whilst other high-street retailers are reporting figures that are a little bit more difficult than ours, these are good figures.”

Shares in Ladbrokes today rose by 1.53 per cent to 314.75p but are still trading below a surge in February after it emerged that Joe Lewis, the British billionaire who lost £1 billion on his Bear Stearns shares, was building a stake in the UK bookmaker.

Mr Lewis, one of the more high profile casualties of the Bear Stearns debacle which resulted in the US investment bank being rescued by JP Morgan Chase, has built a 7 per cent stake in Ladbrokes. He joined JP McManus and John Magnier, the Irish racing tycoons who own around 3 per cent of the company, as a major shareholder. It is understood that Mr Lewis has no immediate plans to launch a bid for the company.

Ladbrokes declined to comment on Mr Lewis's stake building.

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