Following an announcement of its first-half results, the British bookmaker William Hill revealed that it intends to permanently shut 119 of its UK betting shops. The gambling operator, which currently runs about 1,500 betting outlets across the country, shared that it did not expect customer volumes to be the same as they used to be before the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.
As William Hill announced, around 300 staff members were affected by the closures but so far all of them but 20 had been transferred to shops that remain operable. The latest closures of the company’s betting outlet closures add to the 700 of its shops that ceased operation in 2019 – a move that put a total of 4,500 jobs at risk.
The announcement for the closures experienced by some of the gambling giant’s betting shops across the UK comes at a time when many high-street chains, and not only in the gambling sector, have been facing difficulties due to the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic that forced lengthy closures in almost all economic sectors.
The good news for William Hill is that trading has the gambling operator’s trading has recovered well after the lockdown, with the company repaying £24.5 million of UK furlough funds. As revealed by the gambling firm’s chief executive officer Ulrik Bengtsson, the furlough scheme had provided the company with the necessary and timely support so that it succeeded to protect the jobs of 7,000 employees, who work in its UK retail gambling business.
First-Half Performance Better Than Expected Despite Revenue Decline
The gambling company, which is currently among the largest operators in the British gambling sector, also revealed that it had managed to perform better than initially expected over the first half of the year, despite a significant decline in its total revenue.
William Hill announced a 32% decline in its overall revenue to £544.4million, with the fall mainly due to the coronavirus lockdown during which all of its high-street betting shops were shut. On the other hand, the adjusted operating profit of the gambling firm turned out better than expected, as the company managed to cut costs during the period, and a 17% growth in its international online operations was registered. William Hill also shared that its dividend is set to remain suspended.
As mentioned above, the performance of the gambling company over the six month period ended on June 30th, 2020 was hit by the enforced lockdown that left all of its high-street betting outlets shuttered for a few months. On the other hand, the Covid-19 infection outbreak was followed by cancellation and postponement of all major sporting events on a global scale, which left its customers with literally no sports to bet on.
Still, the online operations of the gambling company remained crucial to William Hill’s overall performance over the period. The operator remains interested in bolstering its presence in the US, where it pursues to attract a big client base and take advantage of the recently legalised sports betting services. Although it remains a massive expansion target and offers exciting opportunities for William Hill, the US has still no impact on the gambling giant’s earnings, making the recovery of its UK business one of the top priorities of the bookmaker.
- Author
Olivia Cole
