William Hill boost in profits to Â£100m

A strong Euro 2016 saw bookmaker William Hill report a 28 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to Â£100.7m as it shrugged off the disastrous Cheltenham Festival losses it incurred earlier this year.

By The Newsroom

Published 5th Aug 2016, 17:12 BST

Updated 5th Aug 2016, 18:14 BST

The firm, currently the subject of a three-way merger attempt by its rivals, raked in £36 million from the Uefa European Championship, which it said “mitigates (the) impact of losses at Cheltenham Festival”, where a string of favourites romped home.

Last month, online operator 888 and casino giant Rank came clean over their interest in a £3 billion three-way merger with William Hill.

The numbers provide some stability to the firm which recently fired its chief executive James Anderson.

Interim chief executive Philip Bowcock said: “While the first half of 2016 has been challenging, William Hill is a strong business with three of our four core divisions performing well.

William Hill is a major employer in Yorkshire, with more than a fifth of its global workforce in the region, employing 1,300 people in Leeds alone.