Betfair CEO sweeps house

Betfair is holding its cards close to its chest as news of the departure of its UK Director Peter Marcus was reported in the media.

Marcus, who joined Betfair around 14 months ago from William Hill, reportedly confirmed in an interview with The Financial Times that he is in discussions with the Company concerning his departure which is expected before end November.

Industry observers note that this is the beginning of a series of cost-cutting measures to be initiated by new CEO Breon Corcoran, who joined Betfair in August from Paddy Power, in a drive to streamline the business.

Betfair announced the exit of its betting exchange from the German market relating to a tax dispute earlier this week and has reportedly retrenched a number of employees, thought to be around fifty, from its customer service and help desk staff complement related to its operations in the Asian, Eastern European and Nordic markets.

Although Betfair said it would continue to operate in those markets, the Company will reduce the number of available languages, decrease its marketing spend and focus less on new customer acquisition in order to concentrate on “more strategically attractive” countries.

Numis Analyst Ivor Jones said in a note this week ““Payroll presents just one [cost-cutting] opportunity. Betfair’s payroll is 30 per cent larger than that of Paddy Power, which makes more revenue than Betfair AND runs a retail estate.”

Corcoran is reported to be conducting a strategic review of the Company scheduled to conclude on December 13, 2012.