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Top bosses to depart National Lottery operator Camelot when takeover completed
24/01/2023
Allwyn agreed to buy Camelot in a deal thought to be worth around £100 million back in November
Gambling company Camelot is to part ways with its chief executive and chairman when it is taken over by rival Allwyn Group months after losing the National Lottery licence.
Sir Hugh Robertson will step down as chairman, a role that he has held since 2018, while Nigel Railton leaves after six years in the top job and more than two decades with the business.
The shake-up at the top comes as Allwyn is expected to close the acquisition of Camelot next month.
The two companies announced a deal in November which ended months of legal dispute.
Camelot had held the National Lottery licence since 1994 but will lose it to Allwyn from February next year.
Last March, the Gambling Commission said that it would award the licence to Allwyn, kicking off months of legal proceedings by Camelot which said the authority got the decision “badly wrong.”
In November, Allwyn agreed to buy Camelot in a deal thought to be worth around £100 million.
Camelot said that Sir Hugh and Mr Railton will step down after the transaction is completed once all regulatory permissions have been secured.
Sir Hugh said: “In the first six months of this financial year, Camelot reported the highest-ever first-half returns to good causes in the history of the National Lottery.
“This performance is the result of the commitment of each and every one of my colleagues, to whom I would like to give my heartfelt thanks.”
Mr Railton said: “I am so proud of what we at Camelot have achieved since launching the National Lottery and, in particular, the successes since I took over as CEO.
“I believe we can say with confidence that we delivered on the commitments we made at the time of the strategic review in 2017, and that the plan that we built and executed together has delivered far in excess of what we had forecast.”
Allwyn said that it would appoint chief financial officer Clare Swindell and commercial director Neil Brocklehurst as co-chief executives of Camelot.
Published: by Radio NewsHub