William Hill seek rent reductions from landlords in effort to save betting shops

William Hill have this weekend written to around 2,000 landlords seeking rent reductions across their betting shop estate as they look to mitigate the effects of the government's decision to reduce FOBT maximum stakes to £2 from £100.

Earlier this year the bookmaker warned up to 900 William Hill betting shops – around 38 per cent of the total – would become unprofitable and could close as a result of the stake cut.

In the letter, a copy of which has been seen by the Racing Post, William Hill's managing director for UK retail Nicola Frampton said the regulatory change around the machines was "unprecedented" and came "at the most challenging time ever faced by our high streets".