'They look like Coca-Cola would if they'd lost their syrup recipe'

I'm not entirely surprised by the news. There has been a lot of speculation in and around the industry for the best part of 12 months. Some have said that Hills look for all the world like Coca-Cola would if they'd lost their syrup recipe and were trying hard to find it.

People also talk about Hills losing prominent senior management, but from what people have told me we've also lost a chunk of experienced and quality middle management. All that saddens me really as the job of keeping William Hill on track was, is and always will be dependent on attracting and retaining quality people at all levels.

I'd be surprised if staff losses weren't one of the big worries for the board in all this. It's part of their role to talk to management and get themselves around the business on an extremely regular basis. I'm sure the chairman will have been visiting the business, especially in Gibraltar, and will have been talking with lots of management and frontline teams. He certainly would have picked up on why people were leaving.