British Betting Legend William Hill Catches the Eye of German Operator Tipico

While William Hill might be synonymous with high street and online betting for many Britons the local institution is far from local anymore. The betting company which was first established in 1934 as a cheeky postal and telephone-based betting service, became a household name in 1966 when it began legally opening branches on high street.

In addition to a fantastic online and mobile presence the company now operators more than 1400 betting shops across the United Kingdom and was one of the first betting sites to cross the pond and establish itself in the burgeoning US gambling market by partnering with casino giant Caesars Entertainment.

This would however prove to be the beginning of the end of William Hill as a blue-blooded British institution.

 The Pandemic Takes Its Toll

Very early into the pandemic, with sporting events banned and lockdowns sweeping the world, the writing was on the wall for the British betting giant. Not only was the necessary volume of foot traffic the company needed to remain profitable impossible to attain but what revenue it could produce was hamstrung by the government's decision to limit fixed-odds betting terminals to £2 a stake.

In order to save the company from failing under the weight of an initial £63.5 million loss, 700 betting shops were closed permanently during 2019, and despite turning a profit that year they would be forced to close another 119 betting shops before the end of 2020.

The partnership once intended to be a victorious expansion turned into a lifesaver as Caesars Entertainment, enthused with the performance of the betting site in the US market, bid a whopping £2.9 billion to acquire William Hill in its entirety.

 European Betting Interests On Sale

With the ink of the deal barely dry Caesars announced its intent to sell off the UK and European-facing William Hill assets to the highest bidder.

Since then, several high-profile international gambling operators and investment brokerages have shown an interest in the company but the most “credible offer” to purchase has come from its latest suitor, German-owned betting company Tipico.

While the exact sum on the table is currently undisclosed market analysts are predicting that Caesar's will be expecting at least £1.5 billion for the asset pack which includes all high street shops and an expanded betting shop network that extends across continental Europe.

What we do know is that the offer was strong enough to see private equity firm, Advent International, and Ladbrokes's parent company Entain, both bow out of the auction which is being managed by Deutsche Bank on behalf of Caesars Entertainment.

Whether CVC-held Tipico has what it takes to wrestle William Hill away from existing bidders Apollo Global Management, 888 Holdings and Betfred, is yet to be seen.