Evoke has announced it will undertake a strategic review which could include the potential sale of the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green parent company.
The London-listed operator, which has seen its share price slump 63% in the past 12 months, said the review would include the “consideration of a range of potential alternatives to maximise shareholder value”.
Alongside the potential sale of the group as a whole, specific assets and/or business units could also be disposed of.
In November, Sky News reported evoke could sell off its Italy-facing division to mitigate the tax increases in the UK.
Today, 10 December, Earnings+More reported that further asset sales or the whole business being sold could be on the cards.
Evoke has engaged Morgan Stanley and Rothschild as joint financial advisers in connection with the review.
An evoke statement read: “Shareholders are advised that there is no certainty that any transaction will materialise, nor as to the terms of any transaction.
“Further announcements will be made when and if appropriate.”
Evoke’s share price has spiked on the news, rising 8% to 24p this morning. It follows a dramatic drop in market cap this year, falling from around £275m in December 2024 to £94.3m.
Evoke, then known as 888, snapped up William Hill’s non-US assets in a £2.2bn deal in 2022 which put significant debt on the balance sheet. As of the end of June 2025, net debt stood at £1.8bn.
The operator is also set to be hit by increases to remote gaming duty and general betting duty in the UK, as outlined in last month’s Autumn Budget.
Remote gaming duty will jump from 21% to 40% next April, while remote general betting duty will rise from 15% to 25% in April 2027.
Reacting to the Budget, evoke said it was expecting its duty costs to rise between £125m and £135m once the hikes come into play.
Management said that around 50% of costs could be mitigated via a series of cuts.
These cuts included “supplier savings, reduced marketing, retail store closures, operating cost savings and potential changes to the customer proposition”.
Post-Budget, evoke also said it was withdrawing its medium-term financial targets and was evaluating future investment plans.
On 26 November, evoke CEO Per Widerström said: “These proposals are ill-thought through, counterproductive and highly damaging. It is clear these changes will significantly harm businesses, employees and customers.
“We will begin immediately on executing our mitigation plans, which involve a significant reduction in investment into the UK and, very regrettably, the likely need for thousands of jobs to be cut up and down the country.
“As a result of the actions now required, these tax changes will reduce the overall level of tax the regulated industry pays in the UK, and more importantly it will have a significant negative impact on player protection as these changes will incentivise activity moving to the illegal and dangerous black market.”
The company’s chair, Lord Mendelsohn, stepped down in October and was replaced by board member Mark Summerfield.
As per the firm’s Q3 trading update, revenue was up 5% to £435m, with the majority of that derived from online operations in the UK and Ireland.
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William Hill, 888 and Mr Green parent taps Morgan Stanley and Rothschild to support process, with disposal of specific business units also under consideration
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