Ladbrokes "likely to look externally" for Glynn successor
Departure of "obvious" successor Nick Rust leaves internal candidates "thin on the ground", say analysts
Ladbrokes is likely to look for an external replacement for chief executive Richard Glynn after the bookmaker confirmed he is to leave the business when his five-year term finishes in April next year, according to City analysts.
The firm announced this morning Glynn will not continue in his role past April 2015 and the bookmaker would begin a search for a successor shortly, with both internal and external candidates to be considered for the role.
Panmure Gordon analyst Karl Burns described the timing of the announcement as “strange” due to the “considerable uncertainty” that lay ahead for the company, particularly with the UK Point of Consumption tax having started earlier this week and the “relatively early stage” of the digital turnaround Glynn has overseen.
Cenkos Securities analyst Simon French said an external replacement is likely to be favoured after the departure of Nick Rust, who French said would have been the “most likely internal appointment” for the firm.
Peel Hunt analyst Nick Batram echoed French’s sentiments and said the departure of Rust, who will leave the firm in April to become the new chief executive at the British Horseracing Authority, had seen “one of the most obvious candidates leave the scene”.
Batram named digital director Jim Mullen as one of two possible internal candidates alongside commercial director John Pettit, but noted that both Betfair and Rank had opted for “young, dynamic external appointments” when replacing David Yu and Ian Burke with Breon Corcoran and Henry Birch respectively.
Batram said the pressure was on Ladbrokes to identify the right candidate, despite an expected an uplift in performance in 2015, as whoever comes in still faces a “significant challenge in rising costs and potential regulatory threats”.