At the beginning of this week, gambling giant William Hill announced that, because of profit loss, the company will go ahead with the permanent closure of 119 betting shops in the United Kingdom, as a very bad effect of COVID-19.
The online casino operator, William Hill handles more than 1,500 shops around the United Kingdom and has stated that, while it isn’t clear how many jobs will be involved, the majority of staff will be redeployed within the estate.
Despite the closures, the company declared it was inspired by progress seen recently since betting stores could reopen. Group CEO of William Hill, Ulrik Bengtsson, declared: "I’m glad with William Hill's performance in these extraordinary times. The furlough scheme provided welcome and timely support, and meant we could protect the jobs of our 7,000 UK retail colleagues. Therefore, given the strength of our recovery post-lockdown, we have decided to repay the furlough funds. Our trading was strong before Covid-19, we controlled costs effectively during lockdown and we have recovered well post-lockdown with good performances in our online businesses throughout the first half.” Bengtsson even said that William Hill remains confident working on their growth agenda, as they benefit from their market-leading position in sports betting in the US.
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