Ladbrokes in Boardroom Split

Ladbrokes in Boardroom Split

Ladbrokes' chief executive Chris Bell claims no board room split following reports in the Times of London that two Ladbrokes officers had been in talks with William Hill.

Bell confirmed that finance director Brian Wallace, along with e-gaming head John O’Reilly, had been approached by betting rival Hill for the position, saying that he had a great management team who were bound to get approaches.

"I can put my hand on my heart and say there is no problem," Bell said.

"Brian is a brilliant finance director and I would call him a friend in a work context. He had an approach and he looked at it. He could have taken it but he chose to stay, which is an accolade to Ladbrokes," he added.

The Times of London wrote:

They say the bookie always wins. But in the cutthroat world of bookmaking there is one other racing certainty: the mutual antipathy that exists between William Hill and Ladbrokes.

Mr Wallace was about to be offered the job when he withdrew from the process, according to The Times.

According to industry rumours, Mr Wallace’s decision to withdraw his candidacy may have been linked to a tacit promise that he would – at some point – succeed Chris Bell as chief executive of Ladbrokes. Such a scenario is unlikely to have been well received by Mr Bell.

Analysts suggested that he may have decided it would be unfair on Mr Bell and his boardroom colleagues to quit just nine months after rejoining the company. He had previously been finance director and deputy chief executive of Hilton Group, stepping down last year after it sold its hotel division to focus on the Ladbrokes gambling business.

Another reason may have been Mr Wallace’s contract at Ladbrokes, which would almost certainly have prevented him from joining William Hill for 12 months.