Afternoon:
9°c
William Hill surprised the market today when it suddenly announced it is parting company with finance director Simon Lane.
The move comes just weeks after the High Street bookie completed a fund raising issue to pay down debt.
Lane is to be replaced by Neil Cooper, presently finance director of Bovis Homes. He has been there since 2007 following eight years at Whitbread.
Lane led two tricky fund-raising deals this year. In February he oversaw a deeply discounted rights issue which raised £350 million.
There was disquiet among investors when Hill launched a £300 million corporate bond a few weeks ago to raise yet more cash. In the end the bond, which was offering a chunky yield of 7.25%, was well oversubscribed.
Chief executive Ralph Topping expressed relief that the company hadn't had to offer a coupon rate of more than 8% to get the deal away.
According to today's statement, Lane is leaving to pursue a “fresh challenge to develop his career”.
Chairman Charles Scott said: “I would like to thank Simon for his important contribution to William Hill including his significant efforts in helping to make our balance sheet much stronger.”
Bovis said that the recruitment of a new finance chief would “commence immediately”.
Lane will leave once Cooper is able to join.
William Hill's shares rose ¾p to 187 ¼p.
