Ladbrokes Exec Turns down William Hill
16th November, 2007
It has been reported that William Hill has recently approached rival betting firm Ladbrokes’ finance director, Brian Wallace, attempting to lure him into the vacant chief executive post. The Times newspaper article suggested that Wallace was on a shortlist of two possible candidates, and was in line to be offered the job before he withdrew his name from the running.
Speculation from inside the industry has suggested that Wallace is set to take over from the current Ladbrokes chief executive Chris Bell, although sources quoted in the paper called the rumours ‘nonsense’, claiming that Wallace would not pursue the position in either firm for ‘personal reasons’.
The news comes after Ladbrokes yesterday reported an 84% increase in profits, despite a 5% decrease in over-the-counter revenues. The increase profit has been attributed to ‘telephone high-rollers’, and the figure reverses to a 12% decline without this income, and before the cost of the recent television advertising campaign.
