Jette Nygaard-Andersen steps down as boss of betting group Entain
Chief executive of firm that owns Coral and Ladbrokes quits after it agreed £600m settlement following inquiry into alleged bribery
The chief executive of the parent company of Coral and Ladbrokes has stepped down, weeks after the betting group agreed a £600m settlement following an investigation into alleged bribery at a business it owned in Turkey.
Jette Nygaard-Andersen, one of just a few female leaders of a FTSE 100 company, has requested to leave Entain with immediate effect.
“The past three years have been rewarding and challenging in equal measure,” she said. “The resolution of the HMRC investigation into the legacy business, which was sold by a former management team in 2017, offers a clean inflection point for me and for Entain. The group is now safe, stable and sustainable and I believe that this is the right time to move on to other business and career opportunities.”
Last month, Entain said it had reached an agreement with HM Revenue and Customs which would make the gambling giant pay a total of £585m in the form of a financial penalty and a “disgorgement of profits”.
Under the terms of the agreement, the penalty, which includes an extra £20m charitable donation and a contribution of £10m towards the costs incurred by HMRC and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), will be paid in instalments over four years.
Entain has asked Stella David, a non-executive director, to stand in as chief executive on an interim basis as the hunt for a successor to Nygaard-Andersen begins. David will start this week and will remain in the role until a permanent replacement is found.
“Under Jette’s leadership, Entain has executed a fundamental strategic shift towards regulated or regulating markets, overhauled its governance, transformed its operations, and significantly improved its customer offering,” said Barry Gibson, the chair of Entain.
“She has offered exceptional leadership during what has been a hugely challenging period. It is no exaggeration to say that the HMRC investigation posed a number of threats to our group. We are all indebted to Jette for her dedication to steering the company through such a difficult time.”
Entain’s share price has slumped almost 40% this year. It rose 4% in early trading on Wednesday after the announcement of Nygaard-Andersen’s exit.