Ladbrokes Chairman Buys £50,000 of Company Shares

Ladbrokes Chairman – Peter Erskine spent £50,000 of his own personal money, in a bid to calm company and market fears of another Ladbrokes Profit warning. Ladbrokes have so far announced four profit warnings, stating the company will not hit yearly financial targets.

According to UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph, rumors of a fifth  profit warning began to circulate after an investor relations call with Ireland’s Goodbody Stockbrokers, Chairman – Peter Erskine looked to steady nerves by buying 28000 shares at a buy rate of (UK) 177p in the gaming operator. The Irish Stockbrokers –  Goodbody had flagged Ladbrokes falling share price and downgraded expectations on the companies performance, which led to panic in expectation of further profit warnings from Ladbrokes PLC.

The statement of support shown by Peter Erskine, has not been able to deflect  concerns regarding the companies performance during 2013. with corporate investors apprehensive following  four profits warnings in just over 15 months. Ladbrokes still face further concerns regarding the companies current under-pressure chief executive Richard Glynn, as investors are unhappy with growth and performance in the company’s digital operations, a firm sector Mr Glynn was hired to see growth.

So far In 2013, Ladbrokes have published profits of between (UK) £10-14m . This is less than half the company targeted figure announced of £27.5m for the period. Ladbrokes have been downgraded by all UK stockbrokers and the company has been in speculation of a corporate takeover as share price ha dropped.

Currently the Ladbrokes board and senior management teams are in the process of restructuring the companies future strategy and operations. The new strategy undertaken has seen a strategic partnership with igaming software supplier and technology Playtech, as Ladbrokes sets to re-establish its financial performance.