Ralph Topping has agreed to extend his tenure as William Hill CEO, this time without the hefty retention bonus that spurred a shareholder revolt at the company’s AGM two years ago.
The bookmaker, promoted to the FTSE 100 last week following a strong 12 months under Topping which saw operating profit rise 20%, said the Scot had expressed his desire to stay on as boss “until at least the end of 2015”.
Chairman Gareth Davis said in today’s AGM statement that he was “delighted” that Topping had decided to stay on “to lead the Group through this ongoing transformational period”.
The bookie recently regained full control of its William Hill Online business by buying out software provider Playtech’s 29% stake for £424m. It also acquired Sportingbet’s Australian business and an option on its Spanish arm for £459.4m in March.
Topping, who took up the reigns as CEO in June 2008 after working his way up from a Saturday job in a William Hill shop in Glasgow in 1973, said he was pleased with the progress made during the last five years and that he was “confident we have the management team in place to deliver further value.”
The William Hill board’s decision to pay Topping a £1.2m retention bonus when he last extended his contract two years ago spurred a revolt among shareholders at the company’s AGM. The remuneration package was eventually passed by a show of hands after 49.8% voted against via proxy. Topping blamed corporate governance advisors ISS for orchestrating resistance among institutional shareholders.
Topping recently set a target for the betting and gaming group to become a £5bn business within three to five years. He has argued that the US market, where the bookmaker completed a £31m takeover of three sportsbooks in Nevada last summer, “will offer us that chance for that step-up”.
Article written by Stephen Carter
