GVC faces a cold autumn as retail closures forecast £37m losses

GVC Holdings has communicated that the UK government’s imminent four-week lockdown will cost the FTSE100 company an estimated £37 million. 

Issuing a market update, GVC provided EBITDA impact estimates on retail closures that have been confirmed and sanctioned across England and Europe during the past week. 

Should current conditions remain, in which England’s non-essential businesses are required to temporarily close alongside the enforced lockdowns in Italy (until 24 November) and Belgium (13 December), GVC estimates that it will absorb £37 million in corporate losses.

England’s retail closure will cost the FTSE betting group a reported £27 million alone, whilst the closure of its Eurobet Italia and Ladbrokes BE subsidiaries are estimated at £10 million.

However, should the governments of Wales and Scotland replicate lockdown enforcements, a full UK retail closure would cost the company £34 million – leading to combined UK and European retail losses of £43 million.  

“We are following government advice in each area of our operations and are enacting contingency plans to minimise the impact on the business,” GVC said in a statement, before adding that “the safety and well-being of customers and staff were paramount”. 

This morning’s EBITDA impact assessment follows GVC’s recent corporate update in which the company raised its full-year 2020 profit forecast to between £770-790 million, citing digital growth across all regulated markets. 

GVC Holdings interim statement saw the firm confirm that it would terminate 450 betting shops across the UK, which it attributed to the government’s FOBTs £2 wagering reduction.