William Hill reviewing operations but ‘not looking to pull out of Ireland’

BRITISH bookmaker William Hill claims not to be gearing up for an exit from the Irish market, despite remarks from its management stating that its retail presence here is under review.

William Hill currently has 35 shops in its Irish retail portfolio, after closing 14 under-performing outlets last year.

A spokesperson for the Irish operations of the company said yesterday that the remarks were to an extent taken out of context, adding that retail operations everywhere are constantly under review and that while more closures here are possible, no number has been identified.

“Any review does not mean that we are looking to pull out of Ireland,” the spokesperson added.

Indeed, online revenue from William Hill’s Irish operations was up over 30% last year. Detailed figures for the Irish business are not broken out from group results, but under-performance in its retail division is not unique to Ireland.

The company’s full-year 2009 figures were published yesterday and showed a 4% rise in net revenue to £997.9 million (€1,117.8m), but a 4% drop in retail revenue to £757.5m (€848.6m). Overall group online revenue rose by 63% to £203.5m. Overall pre-tax profits were £197.5m, a 9% fall on the previous year.

“The scale and breadth of our business ensured that we were well placed to ride out the extra volatility in sporting results,” group chief executive Ralph Topping said.