Appointment of Head of IR & Corporate Strategy

RNS Number : 0852M

GVC Holdings PLC

18 January 2016

 

GVC Holdings PLC

("GVC" or the "Group" or the "Company")

Appointment of Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Strategy ahead of Recommended Acquisition of bwin.party digital entertainment plc ("bwin.party")

GVC Holdings PLC (AIM: GVC), a leading online gaming operator in both b2c and b2b markets, is pleased to announce the appointment of Nick Batram to the newly created role of Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy. The strategic non-board appointment is the latest high profile recruitment to be announced ahead of the completion of the proposed Recommended Acquisition of bwin.party (the "Acquisition") on 1 February 2016 and follows the recruitment of Shay Segev, previously with Playtech PLC and Gala Coral, as GVC's Chief Operating Officer.

Mr Batram has spent more than 30 years working in City-related finance with experience from both the buy-side and sell-side of capital markets. For the last 21 years of his career in the City, Mr Batram has specialised in analysis of the leisure and gaming sector. Following completion of the Acquisition, Mr Batram will be responsible for the Capital Markets facing activities of the Group. Mr Batram will head up the Group's global investor communications programme ensuring transparent disclosure to shareholders. Mr Batram will also be responsible for internal corporate finance and strategic business development including M&A origination and execution.

Mr Batram joins from Peel Hunt LLP where he was Head of the Leisure & Gaming Team. He joined Peel Hunt in 2008 and under his leadership the Leisure & Gaming Team was rated in the Top 3 in leisure in the Extel analyst rankings. Mr Batram was voted the number one Leisure and Gaming analyst by corporates in the 2014 Extel Survey. Mr Batram is well-known and highly regarded in the sector having worked on numerous high profile fundraisings and M&A transactions.

Mr Batram is expected to take up his position at GVC in the second quarter of 2016.

Kenny Alexander, CEO of GVC Holdings PLC, commented:

"Nick's appointment is another strategic building block ahead of the completion of the GVC and bwin.party merger. Nick is renowned in the Gaming Sector for having in-depth knowledge of the industry and I am delighted to welcome him to the GVC team. Nick's gravitas in the sector means shareholders will have a respected, knowledgeable and transparent first point of contact. Internally we will benefit from Nick's immense knowledge and contact base as well as his strong analytical skills."

Nick Batram, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Strategy at GVC Holdings PLC, commented:

"I am delighted to be joining the GVC team and am looking forward to working with one of the best management teams in the sector. I have worked in gaming and leisure for over 30 years and I have been proud to be part of the Peel Hunt success story. In 2016 I believe we find ourselves in one of the most exciting periods of growth for the sector in many years. For me the combination of GVC and bwin.party is by far the most compelling."

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For further information:

GVC Holdings PLC
Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive	Tel: [phone]
Richard Cooper, Group Finance Director	www.gvc-plc.com

Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad & Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Mark Connelly, Stephen Keys, Camilla Hume

Media enquiries:

Bell Pottinger
David Rydell, James Newman, Anna Legge, Laura Jaques	Tel: [phone]

About GVC Holdings PLC

GVC Holdings PLC is a leading e-gaming operator in both b2c and b2b markets.  Its core brands are CasinoClub, Betboo and Sportingbet.  The Group has around 700 employees/consultants and is headquartered in the Isle of Man and has licenses in Malta, Denmark, UK, South Africa, and the Dutch Caribbean.

Further information on the Group is available at www.gvc-plc.com

 

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