The gambling group behind William Hill is planning to shut around one in ten of its betting shops across the UK in 2026.
Evoke plc, which bought William Hill for 32 billion in 2022, is reportedly planning to close roughly one in ten of the chain’s betting shops in the new year. Even though the company saw a 3% rise in revenue in the first half of this year, it is facing heavy debts of £1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) against a market value of roughly £210 million ($280 million), while also preparing for expected tax rises following the Autumn Budget.
The exact number of stores set to close has not yet been confirmed, but The Times reports that one source claimed 120 of William Hill’s roughly 1,300 locations will be closed for good, while another put the number closer to 200. If the latter is true, that would result in a loss of around 1,500 jobs.
William Hill and beyond its betting shops
The news comes at a troubled moment for the UK gambling industry, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves expected to increase taxes in the Autumn Budget, following major pressure from MPs. For evoke plc in particular, the company’s share price has fallen by almost 30% over the past 12 months, while falling more than 83% over the past five years. Much of the debt noted above came about from the purchase of William Hill in 2022.
The exact number of closures and the extent of action taken by evoke plc will seemingly depend on Reeves’ budget, due to be announced on November 26. A spokesman for evoke told The Times that the company was “continuously reviewing and adapting our shop portfolio to ensure it aligns with our long-term strategy for sustainable, profitable growth,” while evaluating different scenarios ahead of the budget announcement.
“As a regulated and licensed UK operator, we are also mindful of potential tax increases in the forthcoming budget on top of the rising costs,” said the spokesperson. “As part of our ongoing planning, we are assessing the potential impact of different tax scenarios on our UK operations. This includes the difficult but necessary consideration for further shop closures.”
ReadWrite has contacted the press office at evoke plc for further comment.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
The post William Hill plans to close one in ten of its UK betting shops in 2026 appeared first on ReadWrite.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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