View from City Road: Branson needs more than good intent

The proposal to give the profits made by the National Lottery organisers to charity is inherently attractive. The publicist in Richard Branson will also, no doubt, do a wonderful marketing job. But a big idea on its own is not enough to win the contract. Mr Branson will still have to prove he can run the lottery better than the rival bidders.

The profit to be creamed off from the lottery operation will be strictly controlled by the regulator, whether it goes to charity or to dividends for investors.

It may be a handsome amount, in relation to the capital put into the operation. But the profit will be small compared with the money to be funnelled through the regulator into charities, which could be around a quarter of the total proceeds. A modest increase in the income of the lottery could produce extra funds for charity that dwarf those profits.

It is perfectly possible that one of the other proposals could produce a higher overall return for charity, simply by offering a more effective money-raising machine. This aspect, rather than the superficial attraction of not paying profits to investors, will remain the key to the decision.