Entain announces departure of chief executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen with immediate effect

Betting giant Entain has announced the departure of Jette Nygaard-Andersen as chief executive officer with immediate effect. 

Nygaard-Andersen, who succeeded Shay Segev as the head of Entain, informed the board of the betting and gaming giant she wished to leave the role after three years at the head of a company whose main UK bookmaking brands are Ladbrokes and Coral.

The Entain board has appointed Stella David, who was previously a non-executive director, to take over as interim chief executive while a permanent replacement to Nygaard-Andersen is recruited. The group's share price rose more than four per cent in early trading on news of the leadership change. 

Nygaard-Andersen has earned plaudits during her tenure for improving Entain’s reputation for compliance with gambling regulators, and her departure follows hot on the heels of the conclusion of a long-running investigation by HMRC into bribery claims surrounding a Turkish-based business owned by Entain’s predecessor, GVC Holdings, between 2011 and 2017. 

But while she is credited with doing an effective job in cleaning house, in recent months reports in the financial press have highlighted shareholder and investor dissatisfaction at Entain’s sluggish business performance. 

In the wake of HMRC’s agreement to terminate the Turkish investigation – which the crown court sanctioned in return for penalty payments totalling £585 million plus costs and a charitable donation – a story in the Financial Times cited three named activist hedge funds reported to be applying pressure in the hope of a change of leadership. 

Entain: has installed a interim chief executive

Entain chairman Barry Gibson said on Wednesday: “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.

“Jette's decision to leave comes after the resolution of HMRC's investigation into the company's legacy Turkish-facing business. 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. As the court last week recognised in approving a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), had the matter not been resolved by way of a DPA, the consequences to the company and all of its stakeholders could have been disproportionate.  

“The overhaul of the business model, strategy and culture of the group in recent years was vital to securing the successful conclusion of a DPA process.”

Reflecting on her decision to leave Entain, Nygaard-Andersen described the conclusion of HMRC's Turkey inquiry as "a clean inflection point". 

"The past three years have been rewarding and challenging in equal measure," said Nygaard-Andersen. "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."

David said: "I have been a director of Entain for almost three years and have seen up close the extraordinary hard work that Jette and her team have put in overhauling the culture and practices at Entain.  

"I look forward to helping to build on the strong foundations for future commercial success that she leaves behind her.”   

Entain issued a revenue warning to the London stock market in September and forecasts no return to revenue growth until the second half of next year.

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