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The recession is hitting the High Street bookie, with William Hill today warning the City it will miss its profit targets because fewer consumer are having a flutter.
The alert sent shares in Britain's second largest bookmaker slumping to a nine month low of 16.3p at 170p, dragging down rival Ladbrokes which reports numbers on Thursday, down by a similar 8%.
Chief executive Ralph Topping who has previously indicated he believes the industry is recession-proof, warned: “We are seeing rising unemployment and constraints on consumer spending.”
Topping added: “We are seeing weaker horse racing margins because there are simply too many bookies chasing not enough punters.
“And when the football season finished, those discretionary punters who would also bet on the racing have gone away, and we do not expect to see them again until the start of the new [football] season.”
With just uninspiring flat racing to bet on, analysts reckon punter-spend in betting shops in July was down by as much as 13%.
Hill's half-year pre-tax profits crashed 17% to £91 million. The City beleives full-year profits could be down by some 10% to around £195 million.
