Shares fall in Paddy Power as betting firm’s boss steps down unexpectedly

Shares in Paddy Power Betfair fell more than 8% during yesterday on the unexpected news that Breon Corcoran was stepping down as CEO, a day before the company’s half year results.

Weekend rumblings that a change may be imminent came to pass, with shares dropping over 8% in London, though recovering some of these loses late yesterday. This extends a 25% drop since last year’s merger of Paddy Power bookmakers and the Betfair exchange.

The firm’s chairman, Gary McCann, said it had begun a search for a successor “some months ago” after Mr Corcoran laid out his long-term plans. The firm said the CEO of the UK arm of global payments business WorldPay, Peter Jackson, would take over from Mr Corcoran, who will stay on as boss until an “orderly transition” is complete. There was no indication of a firm start date for Mr Jackson.