In an unexpected turn of events, the owner of William Hill and 888, evoke, has announced the group is considering selling or breaking up after UK gambling tax regulations hit the company’s stocks and are expected to generate £135 million in tax payments. As a result, evoke, which has a net debt of £1.82 billion,
In an unexpected turn of events, the owner of William Hill and 888, evoke, has announced the group is considering selling or breaking up after UK gambling tax regulations hit the company’s stocks and are expected to generate £135 million in tax payments.
As a result, evoke, which has a net debt of £1.82 billion, has hired bankers from Morgan Stanley and Rothschild to help navigate through the transition.
The value of the company fell to just £100 million by December 10, 2025, which is a 90% drop. After news of selling or breaking up was disclosed, shares rose by 9%.
evoke stated:
“We have decided to undertake a review of the company’s strategic options, which will include the consideration of a range of potential alternatives to maximize shareholder value, including, but not limited to, a potential sale of the group or some of the company’s assets and/or business units.”
evoke previously admitted that the company would be hit hard by the new tax rises in the budget.
Before these external pressures, evoke faced serious high-profile compliance problems. The company fired its chief executive and suspended VIP customer accounts in the Middle East in 2023 in connection with anti-money laundering failures.