Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain has launched a review of all its brands, raising the possibility that some of the biggest names in betting could be put up for sale, after a “difficult year”.
Entain swung to a huge £878 million loss, mostly due to one-off items. The biggest of those was its settlement of a long-running bribery case related to a since-closed Turkish subsidiary and executives that are no longer with the firm. Underlying profits were stronger, rising to £1 billion, but were held back by new safer gambling rules in the UK, which Entain implemented before many rivals.
Finance boss Rob Wood told the Standard that the firm sees an opportunity to pick up customers once smaller rivals are forced to implement the same reforms, though this was likely to mean higher marketing spend in the short-term. Elsewhere, reforms in Germany and the Netherlands also held profits back.
Those German and Dutch struggles sent Entain shares down, by 5.2% to 787.6p. They’re down 44% over the past year.
“2023 was a period of necessary, but ultimately positive, transition for Entain. We have significantly strengthened the quality of our revenue base, enhanced our Board, and delivered a resolution to a critical, historic, regulatory issue.”
Chair Barry Gibson said: “As our transformation continues the newly formed capital allocation committee has commenced a review of Entain's markets, brands and verticals. The objectives of the review are to help focus the organization, improve competitive positions and maximize shareholder value.”
Wood elaborated on the review. He told the Standard that it would focus on “prioritisation”, after recent years had been a “period of transition”. The business went on a buying spree under ex-CEO Jette-Nygaard-Andersen, with some deals upsetting shareholders.
The review, he said, is in its early stages, but covers “all of our assets” with a wide range of possible outcomes.
That suggests that even Ladbrokes and Coral could be up for sale, though jettisoning smaller brands such as PartyPoker, as had been suggested in reports earlier this week, might be more likely.
The firm has been without a full-time CEO since December, when Jette Nygaard-Andersen quit under heavy shareholder pressure. Stella David, previously a non-executive director, is interim CEO.
Gibson said: “We are making positive progress in our search for a new permanent CEO, and in the meantime Stella is driving the business as it continues to take appropriate actions to deliver changes to drive a better long term performance.”
