UK-based gambling operator William Hill PLC announced today that James Henderson is leaving his CEO post after spending two years at the company’s helm. The executive is stepping down with immediate effect. William Hill Chief Financial Officer Philip Bowcock has been named Interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found.
Commenting on the announcement, Chairman Gareth Davis said that they are all thankful to Mr. Henderson’s and praised his contributions to the company’s development. Mr. Davis further noted that Mr. Bowcock has clear vision of what he would focus on as Interim CEO. A particular attention will be paid to the company’s somewhat struggling online business. William Hill’s Chairman also pointed out that a permanent successor to Mr. Henderson will be announced in the months to come.
Mr. Henderson was appointed as William Hill CEO in July 2014. During his tenure, the gambling operator faced certain hardships so it could be said that his resignation does not come as much of a surprise to the industry.
Up until the Ladbrokes-Gala Coral mega merger was announced last summer, William Hill was the owner of UK’s biggest chain of betting shops. However, with the merger deal to be closed any time now, that title will go to the newly formed Ladbrokes Coral business.
What is more, two other pairs of major gambling operators joined forces earlier this year (GVC Holdings/bwin.party and Paddy Power/Betfair), which means that William Hill now has much stronger opponents to compete with for a larger share in both the UK and the global sports betting and gaming markets.
As the company itself reported late in March, it did not enjoy a good start of the year. William Hill issued an operating profit warning stating that several key factors had influenced and would influence its full-year financial performance.
The gambling operator this spring experienced its worst Cheltenham Festival ever and it said that this was particularly bad for its online revenue and profit, respectively. During the first two and a half months of the year, the operator generated £15 million below expectations in online revenue.
William Hill also said in its March trading statement that the fact that a number of high-value online players had changed their betting behavior to gamble less (being encouraged by gambling regulators to do so) also contributed to the operator’s growing concerns over its full-year profit for 2016.
Original forecasts pointed to profit of £307 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016. However, following the latest warning, William Hill now expects profit of between £260 million and £280 million.
Although Mr. Henderson spent only two years on the CEO post, his career within the company spans over three decades. He has considerable experience in all the operator’s divisions, including its core ones, namely retail and online.
