THE DAILY BRIEFING

BOOKIE BOSS William Hill is understood to be set to start searching for a new chief executive early next year. Current boss gareth Davis, 66, has reportedly been accused of not devoting enough time to the business after a series of blunders which saw two high-profile mergers fall by the wayside. The FTsE 250 bookmaker had spurned an approach to create a three-way tie up with casino operator Rank and online gaming firm 888. The firm was then in talks about a potential £6bn merger with Canadian business Amaya, which owns website Pokerstars. TAX DODGE The taxman has used powers to clampdown on firms promoting tax avoidance schemes fewer than five times in two years, according to research by legal consultancy RPC. HMRC was given the power in 2014 to fine firms up to £1m if they were considered to be ‘high risk’ promoters of abusive tax avoidance. The Conduct Notice is just one of the tools in the Revenue’s armoury against those promoting these schemes, and is used when firms fail to comply with certain conditions. MAKING A PACKET The boss of tobacco giant Reynolds American could be set for a £12.4m windfall. FTsE 100 firm British American Tobacco is looking to buy the Us firm for the equivalent of 4620p a share. If that happens Reynolds’ chief executive susan Cameron could pocket millions for the 269,001 shares she owns. 02 FLOAT Potential investors in o2 will be keeping a close eye on its results this Thursday for signs a £10bn stock market flotation is on the way. It is understood spanish-owner Telefonica wants to float about 30pc of its UK mobile arm – o2 – on the London stock market.