William Hill appoints new Chairman

William Hill appoints new Chairman

28 July 2010

William Hill PLC (William Hill or the Company) (LSE: WMH) announces the appointment of Gareth Davis as the new Chairman of William Hill with effect from 1 September 2010.

Gareth Davis recently retired as Chief Executive Officer of Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (Imperial Tobacco) after 14 years in the role. He joined Imperial Tobacco in 1972 as a management trainee and undertook various roles in the business, including Managing Director of International Operations from 1988. He was appointed Chief Executive in 1996 and led the successful demerger of Imperial Tobacco from Hanson plc and subsequent listings on the London and New York Stock Exchanges. He played a key role in the development and execution of Imperial Tobacco's strategy and its development into a leading multi-national business. Since 2003, Mr Davis has also been a non-executive director of Wolseley plc, where he is also senior independent director.

As announced on 20 January 2010, Charles Scott will stand down with effect from the same date. Mr Scott has been with the Group as a director since 1999 and Chairman since 2004.

Ralph Topping, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are delighted that Gareth has agreed to join the Board as Chairman of William Hill. He has strong, relevant experience in terms of managing a complex, regulated business expanding from a robust UK base into international markets. We look forward to being able to draw on that experience as we take William Hill forward.

"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Charlie for his ten years with us and his Chairmanship since 2004. He made a very significant contribution during a period of rapid growth and change at William Hill and he leaves behind a company that is the market leader in the UK and well-positioned to grow internationally through the online business."

-ends-

Enquiries:

William Hill PLC

Ralph Topping, Chief Executive

Lyndsay Wright, Director of Investor Relations

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8918 3614

Brunswick Group

Simon Sporborg/ Justine McIlroy

Tel: 020 7404 5959

About Gareth Davis

Gareth Davis was born in Bolton and read geography and economics at Sheffield University. He joined Imperial Tobacco in 1972 as a management trainee, managed the Newcastle-upon-Tyne factory from 1973, became Production Control Manager in Bristol in 1988 and Managing Director of International Operations in 1988. In 1996, he was appointed Chief Executive. Mr Davis is married with a daughter and is a life-long Bolton Wanderers fan.

About William Hill PLC

William Hill is a leading betting and gaming company. It is one of the UK's largest bookmakers, with around 2,300 shops in the UK and Ireland that provide betting opportunities on a wide range of sporting and non-sporting events, and offer gaming machines. William Hill Online provides internet-based sports betting, casino, poker and bingo, and is one of the leading European online betting and gaming businesses operated by a listed company.