CONCERNS

Shares in Paddy Power Betfair stumbled as it unveiled its next chief executive, with Breon Corcoran set to step down after 16 years with the group.

He is being replaced by Worldpay boss Peter Jackson, who has been appointed following what the company described as a “rigorous and extensive succession process”.

Corcoran, a gambling sector veteran, was instrumental in the £7 billion merger between Paddy Power and Betfair, which he previously headed.

He said: “This is the right decision for me and my family, and following the successful completion of the merger integration it is an opportune time for the business too.”

The merger agreement was revealed in September 2015, setting out to create one of the world’s largest online gambling firms, with more than 7,000 staff and £1.2bn in sales, and it completed in February 2016. However, 650 employees left in the immediate wake of the tie-up, which was part of a broader consolidation trend in the gambling sector with Ladbrokes joining forces with Coral, for example.

0 The company has confirmed that CEO Breon Corcoran is to step down

ACCENDO MARKETS

Paddy Power Betfair praised Corcoran’s role in moving the business to digital and in developing a mobile offering.

Prior to Worldpay, Jackson was chief executive of Travelex Group from 2010 until its sale in 2015.

In 2016 he led the innovation function for Banco Santander and between 2002 and 2010 he held a series of roles in the retail bank at Lloyds Banking Group and HBOS. He has also been a non-executive director of Paddy Power Betfair since 2016 and previously at Betfair Group since 2013. The merged firm, which is to announce its half-year results today, said it will report revenue growth of 9 per cent and underlying earnings jumping by about a fifth.

It will also confirm that trading is in line with expectations and provide guidance for fullyear 2017 underlying earnings of £445 million to £465m.

The company in March this year revealed costs of its merger left it nursing annual losses of £5.7m, but said revenues jumped 18 per cent and

“Fierce competition and consolidation are one problem. A lack of major summer sporting events this year makes it a brace. A new [CEO] makes it hat-trick”