Impact of enforced store closures due to COVID-19

RNS Number : 8530D

GVC Holdings PLC

02 November 2020

 

2 November 2020

GVC Holdings PLC

("GVC" or the "Group")

Impact of further enforced store closures due to COVID-19

GVC Holdings PLC (LSE: GVC), the global sports betting and gaming group, today provides an update regarding the impact of enforced store closures across UK and European retail as a result of further restrictions due to Covid-19.

The well-being, safety and security of our colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to us.  We are following government advice in each area of our operations and are enacting contingency plans to minimise the impact on the business.

Further restrictions have now been imposed in England, in addition to those already in place across our wider UK Retail and European Retail operations¹.  In order to provide clarity on the impact of the enforced store closures on our retail operations, we set out below the approximate impact on EBITDA as a result of a) current closures for the required durations as notified as of today¹, and b) the impact if all retail stores were to be closed for a full month.  These estimates include the benefit of government support where available and other retail cost mitigation.

	Estimated EBITDA impact of currently required retail closures	Estimated EBITDA impact if all retail outlets were required to be closed for a whole month
UK Retail	£27m	£34m
European Retail	£10m	£9m
Total	£37m	£43m

Notes:

1.  Restrictions and guidelines on retail stores currently in place are: Stores in England will close from 5 November until 3 December (subject to Parliamentary approval).  Stores in Scotland and Northern Ireland currently remain open.  In Wales all stores are currently closed and are expected to re-open on 9 November.  In the Republic of Ireland all shops are expected to be closed until 2 December.  In Italy all shops - but not corner outlets - are closed until 24 November.  In Belgium all stores are closed until 13 December.

Enquiries:

Investor Relations GVC Holdings plc
David Lloyd-Seed, Director of Investor Relations & External Communications	Tel: [phone]
Jennifer Spencer, Investor Relations Manager	[e-mail]
Media GVC Holdings plc Tessa Curtis, Head of Media Relations Jay Dossetter, Head of ESG and Press Office	Tel: [phone] [e-mail] or [e-mail]
Powerscourt
Rob Greening / Elly Williamson	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]

LEI: 213800GNI3K45LQR8L28

Forward-looking statements

This document contains certain statements that are forward-looking statements. They appear in a number of places throughout this document and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations and those of our officers, directors and employees concerning, amongst other things, results of our operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the business we operate. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. By their nature, these statements involve risks and uncertainties since future events and circumstances can cause results and developments to differ materially from those anticipated. Any such forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this document. Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations (including under the Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014), the Listing Rules, the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules and the Prospectus Rules), the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements. Nothing in this document should be construed as a profit forecast. The Company and its directors accept no liability to third parties in respect of this document save as would arise under English law.

About GVC Holdings PLC

GVC Holdings PLC (LSE:GVC) is a FTSE100 company and is one of the world's largest sports-betting and gaming groups, operating both online and in the retail sector. The Group owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands; Sports Brands include bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds and Sportingbet; Gaming Brands include CasinoClub, Foxy Bingo, Gala, Gioco Digitale, partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary technology across all of its core product verticals and in addition to its B2C operations provides services to a number of third-party customers on a B2B basis. The Group has also entered into a joint-venture with MGM Resorts to capitalise on the sports-betting and gaming opportunity in the US. The Group is tax resident in the UK with licenses in more than 20 countries, across five continents.

For more information see the Group's website:   www.gvc-plc.com  

 

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