William Hill owner Evoke has put itself and all of its business assets up for sale in response to the new gambling tax laws announced in November’s Budget.
The London-listed company, which also owns the 888 online casino brand and Mr Green, issued a statement on Wednesday (December 10) confirming that the board of Directors had “decided to undertake a review of the company’s strategic options”.
No option is off the table, from the sale of individual divisions of the business to selling the group as a whole, “to maximise shareholder value”.
Thousands Of Job Cuts
Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% in her Autumn Budget, confirming the gambling industry’s worst fears.
That 40% duty will kick in from April next year and General Betting Duty will increase from 15% to 25% from April 2027 for everything but horseracing.
Evoke paid tax and duty of £329 million to the UK Exchequer in 2024, which was more than 60% of its UK profits.
The company issued a profit warning on the evening of the November 26 Budget.
It estimated that once both new rates are in force, Evoke’s tax obligations would go up anywhere between £125 million to £135 million annually.
CEO Per Widerstrom was damning in his immediate response to the news, calling the proposed measures “ill-thought-through, counterproductive, and highly damaging”.
Widestrom also confirmed that Evoke would have to begin an immediate process of evaluating its options.
He warned that it would include “the likely need for thousands of jobs to be cut up and down the country”.
What Happens Next For William Hill?
Evoke has appointed Morgan Stanley and Rothschild & Co as its joint financial advisers during the review process.
The Gibraltar-headquartered firm also advised shareholders in its letter of intent that there is no certainty that any transaction will materialise.
In July 2022 Evoke paid around £2.2 billion to buy William Hill.
At that time it was trading as 888 Holdings and was operating as an online casino company.
The acquisition of William Hill and its 1,400 shops was the company’s first move into land-based betting, but it has been a turbulent period of ownership.
Evoke’s net debt stood at £1.82 billion after the first six months of this year and since the November 26 Budget had been announced, shares of the company lost more than 36% of their value.
Today’s statement to the London stock market saw share values rise again by 10%.
