14-January-2010

Landbrokes PLC CEO Christopher Bell announced Tuesday that he is leaving his post after 20 years with the U.K. bookmaker. The company indicated that it has not yet found a replacement for Bell, but said it would consider both internal and external applicants.

Bell, who has been at the helm of the British gambling group since 2001, oversaw the company’s sale of its hotel chain in 2006. He also spearheaded its expansion into 2700 betting shops in the UK, Ireland, Belgium and Spain.

Bell has drawn fire, however, for the company’s underperformance in 2009. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ladbrokes shares have fallen 5.4 percent since January 2009. Meanwhile, shares in rival William Hill PLC have risen 18 percent and shares in online-only competitors PartyGaming PLC and 888 Holdings PLC have risen 37 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.

Critics have also accused Bell of arrogance after he banned Ladbrokes staff from flying British Airways because his daughter had a bad experience with the airline. According to several U.K. newspapers, Bell lifted the ban only after receiving an apology from British Airways CEO Willie Walsh.

Yet Bell’s greatest troubles came in “overseeing a difficult period in the group’s history, culminating in a punitive equity raise in October 2009,” Daniel Stewart analyst James Hollins told The Wall Street Journal. “Our key issue with the management has been a lack of international growth in its online division.”

Bell said he feels there are several “very good people” within the company that could replace him, but commented that filling his seat was ultimately the board’s decision. He went on to say that he had made his decision to leave Ladbrokes last year and that after serving nine years as the company’s Chief Executive Officer it was “time to move on.”

“It's the most fabulous job anybody could have, but it is a huge job,” Bell said. “I'm very pleased to be passing the baton on to somebody else because it's time for a change, and—to be quite frank—time for a little rest too.”

Ladbrokes Chairman Peter Erskine said Bell has made “an invaluable contribution to the growth and development of Ladbrokes.” He also stated that Bell would continue to head the company into the summer to ensure continuity.

After news of Bell’s departure, shares in Ladbrokes (LON: LAD) rose 1 percent to $2.35, while shares in William Hill (LON:WMH) fell 1.3 percent to $3.07.

By: Phill Provance
phill.provance@acehoyle.com

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