New look William Hill welcomes Ruth Prior as Group CFO

Updating the market, FTSE bookmaker William Hill Plc has confirmed that Ruth Prior has officially taken the corporate leadership position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Last March, William Hill governance had confirmed that it had headhunted Prior from leading global payments provider WorldPay’s executive team where she had served as Chief Operations Officer and Deputy CFO (2013-2017).

A seasoned finance executive within entertainment and technology sectors, Prior joins William Hill leadership taking over the group’s controllership and treasury duties. Prior joins William Hill leadership team as the company focuses on its three-point recovery plan – recovering UK traction, growing its international services and delivering a new Openbet platform for its digital divisions.

Despite reporting an 11% decline in corporate profits for its H1 2017 interim results, William Hill leadership remains positive of the bookmaker’s future performance, stating that the company has successfully executed the ‘turnaround’ of its declining digital division.

Under the guidance of new CEO Philip Bowcock, William Hill has detailed that it will ramp-up its marketing activity having secured group-wide £40 million in savings. Bowcock has detailed to investors that the William Hill brand has to be aggressive in a saturated marketplace.

From an investor perspective, London private equity firm Silchester acquired a 5% stake in William Hill Plc, becoming the FTSE bookmaker’s fourth-largest shareholder. Silchester a specialist in ‘long-hold’ investments, believes that at present William Hill is an undervalued asset within the global betting sector.