The chief executive is right about investing online, but that can't be his only priority
Profits excluding high rollers up 20%; profits including high rollers down 12%. Richard Glynn has had a rough introduction to life as chief executive of Ladbrokes. High rollers are the wealthy punters who bet big but only sporadically, at least at Ladbrokes. In 2009, the bookie took £67m off them; last year, just £5m.
Still, there's always the machines, the in-shop electronic roulette wheels and slot games. Four per shop, say the rules, and the bookies make sure they have their full quota. Ladbrokes has 8,000, generating an average gross win of £730 per week – that's £303m to Ladbrokes for the year. Better machines – ones with whizzier games – are on the way in the hope that cash will flow even faster.
Glynn was recruited for his expertise in online betting, where Ladbrokes has been a serial underperformer. His £50m investment over two years, everybody agrees, is needed. But sweet-talking millionaires and milking those dreary machines looks to be just as important in reviving the sagging share price.