GVC's Kenny Alexander on assembling the perfect management team

UK gambling giant GVC Holdings last week reported an 8% year-on-year increase in H1 2018 net gaming revenue (NGR) to £1.7bn last week.

Underlying operating profits were also up 17% to £278m as EBITDA rose by 11% at £349.5m, with the operator reporting “good momentum” in online and market share gains in all territories.

The operator’s newly-acquired Ladbrokes Coral business is performing particularly strongly in Q3, and below, GVC CEO Kenny Alexander, tells EGR Intel he has assembled the perfect management team to lead the operator’s next phase of growth in key European markets and the US.

EGR Intel: What are the key drivers behind GVC’s strong online growth in H1?

Kenny Alexander (KA): The GVC legacy business has continued its growth if not accelerated its growth and the Ladbrokes Coral business we just acquired has also accelerated, especially across the Ladbrokes digital brand which is performing much better. If you look at our six big core markets which are the UK, Germany, Australia, Italy, Brazil and the poker market in general, we are grabbing market share from our competitors in all of those key markets. In Q3 are digital growth is also over 30%. For these acquisitions and integrations, it is the first six to nine months that set the tone and we couldn’t have got off to a better start and I am very pleased.

Kenny Alexander believes he has the strongest management team in the sector

EGR Intel: Have you finalised management teams following the Ladbrokes Coral takeover?

KA: People are always going to move around but as far as we’re concerned I’ve got the strongest management team in the sector. My senior management team of four people – Shay Segev, Adam Lewis, Jim Humberstone, Robert Hoskins – are the people who have been responsible for the GVC turnaround story over the last four years which allowed us to buy Ladbrokes Coral. Once we acquired Ladbrokes Coral we found some very good people there like Paul Bowtell the CFO and Andy Hornby, who is running the Ladbrokes Coral business, and Adam Greenblatt, so it is a mix and match of the best talent GVC has got and the best talent Ladbrokes Coral has got. Yes some people move about but I think that we have the strongest team in the sector and they have very good people underneath them so I couldn’t be more pleased with the people and the structure as everybody knows what they are doing. The senior team is very settled and the results speak for themselves.

EGR Intel: Why was a 50/50 joint venture with MGM the best way to go in the US market?

KA: If you take a three to five year view it will probably be the biggest regulated market out there. I think we have done the deal that everyone wanted to do quite frankly. MGM are the biggest land-based operator, they have a great brand, a great loyalty scheme and great coverage in terms of access to the different states and I think this JV will be the market leader in the US. Whatever MGM makes in the US, we will make the same amount. I haven’t seen another deal done in the US that I would prefer to have done so we are delighted with it.

EGR Intel: What is the next big regulatory challenge for UK gambling operators?

KA: There has been more regulation in the UK but GVC has a very good relationship with the UKGC. Our UK business is growing very well and faster than any of our competitors. There is always a bit of pessimism about the UK but I am not pessimistic at all. I am pretty bullish about the UK online market. We have good momentum and we are going to get more aggressive so nothing concerns me.