The chief executive of the parent company of Coral and Ladbrokes has stepped down, weeks after the betting group agreed a settlement of more than £600m following an investigation into alleged bribery at a business it owned in Turkey.
Jette Nygaard-Andersen, one of just a few female leaders of a FTSE 100 company, has requested to leave Entain with immediate effect.
She had faced criticism from activist investors over the lacklustre performance of the company’s share price, which has fallen by more than a third during her three-year tenure.
Nygaard-Andersen took over in January 2021, weeks after Entain had rejected an £8.1bn takeover offer from MGM, its US joint-venture partner. MGM, which is based in Las Vegas, has since said it has “moved on” and has launched its own UK betting venture, BetMGM.
The US suitor’s failed bid for Entain was worth £13.83 a share, well in excess of the value today. The stock was at £8.43 on Wednesday afternoon after climbing by nearly 5% after news of the chief executive’s departure reached the markets.
“The past three years have been rewarding and challenging in equal measure,” Nygaard-Andersen said. “The resolution of the HMRC investigation into the legacy business, which was sold by a former management team in 2017, offers a clean inflection point for me and for Entain. The group is now safe, stable and sustainable and I believe that this is the right time to move on to other business and career opportunities.”
Last month, Entain said it had reached an agreement with HM Revenue and Customs under which the gambling group pays £585m in the form of a financial penalty and a “disgorgement of profits”.
Under the terms of the agreement, the penalty, which includes an extra £20m charitable donation and a contribution of £10m towards the costs incurred by HMRC and the Crown Prosecution Service will be paid in instalments over four years.
Entain has asked Stella David, a non-executive director, to stand in as chief executive on an interim basis. David will start this week and will remain in the role until a permanent replacement for Nygaard-Andersen is found.
Barry Gibson, the chair of Entain, said: “Under Jette’s leadership, Entain has executed a fundamental strategic shift towards regulated or regulating markets, overhauled its governance, transformed its operations, and significantly improved its customer offering.
“She has offered exceptional leadership during what has been a hugely challenging period. It is no exaggeration to say that the HMRC investigation posed a number of threats to our group. We are all indebted to Jette for her dedication to steering the company through such a difficult time.”
