Jim Mullen’s lack of retail betting experience will not be a hindrance to Ladbrokes’ progress as the bookmaker’s new chief executive familiarises himself with the business in the next few months, a spokesperson for the group has told iGaming Business.
Mullen was confirmed as Ladbrokes’ new chief executive this morning, replacing Richard Glynn with effect from 1 April, having arrived from William Hill in November 2013 to head up its online activities.
Mullen will receive a basic salary of £500,000 and if he meets a range of targets will receive a bonus of up to 170% of base salary, one third of which will be deferred in shares for three years, as well as “a pension allowance of 22.5% of his base salary, car allowance, private healthcare and other customary benefits worth c £15,000 in total”, the group said in a statement.
Ladbrokes has not yet found a replacement for Mullen as head of digital as it embarks on its Playtech-powered project to catch up with arch-rival William Hill when it comes to grabbing market share in the online betting and gaming space.
The group has substantial work to do in the online space, its 2014 operating profits of £14m were dwarfed by William Hill’s £177.7m total in the same period. It added that the August interims would provide a better picture of the progress it expects to have made.
In terms of marketing, Ladbrokes has said it did not plan to increase its 2014 total spend of £67m. This compares with Hill’s total of £130m last year. However, it said it would watch and see how the market developed in the coming months, especially with regard to Point of Consumption in the UK.
“We have a great marketing team at Ladbrokes Israel and if we feel we need to raise the marketing firepower we can do so. We will remain flexible,” the spokesperson added.
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
