evoke exploring potential sale in response to UK tax hikes

Summary

evoke — the operator behind William Hill, 888 and Mr Green — has launched a strategic review that could include the sale of the group or parts of its business. The move follows sweeping UK gambling tax changes announced in the recent Budget, which the operator says will materially increase duty costs and force a reassessment of its UK investment plans.

The board has appointed Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Rothschild & Co as joint financial advisers. CEO Per Widerström has publicly condemned the Budget as “highly damaging” and outlined mitigation plans that may include reduced UK investment and large-scale job cuts. evoke has withdrawn its medium-term targets while it evaluates the impact, citing an expected annualised duty increase of around £125-135m once fully implemented and a medium-term ability to mitigate roughly 50% of the hit.

Key Points

evoke has initiated a strategic review that may consider selling the Group or some assets/business units.
The review is a direct response to UK Budget tax changes that significantly raise duties on remote gambling.
Morgan Stanley and Rothschild have been appointed as joint financial advisers to the board.
CEO Per Widerström warned of reduced investment in the UK and the likely need for thousands of job cuts as mitigation.
evoke estimates the tax changes could add approximately £125-135m in annual duty costs, with about £80m arising in FY26 pre-mitigation.
The group expects to be able to mitigate roughly half the impact via supplier savings, reduced marketing, retail closures and operating cuts, but has withdrawn medium-term financial targets pending the review.

Why should I read this?

Short version: big operator, big fallout. evoke’s review could split up one of Europe’s largest gambling portfolios, put jobs at risk and accelerate market consolidation. If you work in UK iGaming, payments, regulation or retail betting, this could affect competitors, suppliers and customer-protection dynamics — so it’s worth the five-minute read.

Author style

Punchy: This matters. The Budget hasn’t just nudged strategy — it’s forced a possible structural shake-up. We’ve boiled down the essentials so you can act faster than reading the full filings.

Source

Source: https://igamingexpert.com/features/evoke-strategic-review-sale-uk-tax/