GVC acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral a new challenge for Hornby?

It appears from an article in The Times on Saturday that former banker and Ladbrokes Coral chief operating officer Andy Hornby (50) will be appointed the chief operating officer of the combined GVC Holdings and Ladbrokes Coral group, responsible for all retail betting in the UK and Europe and all digital marketing.

The merger is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2018, giving Hornby wide responsibilities, although he will not be made a director, according to The Times, in acknowledgement of the controversy associated with his earlier career as a banker.

The same applied with his service at Ladbrokes Coral, where despite having major authority as COO, he was not appointed to the Board – it has been speculated in deference to sensitivities that linger from his less than stellar and much criticised performance as the 39-year-old chief executive of HBOS bank, which had to be rescued ten years ago as the global financial crisis took hold.

Hornby’s past has inevitably resurfaced on the news of his likely new appointment, and Our readers may recall that following the HBOS debacle – a scandal that is reportedly still the subject of a regulatory investigation –  he eventually ended up in mid-2011 as the Coral betting group’s chief executive.

When Coral and Ladbrokes merged in a GBP 2.3 billion agreement last year Hornby became chief operating officer of the combined companies, overseeing the retail and digital arms which make up 85 percent of revenues.

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