William Hill owner Evoke considers sale or break-up after UK tax hikes
Just in: UK gambling company Evoke is considering breaking itself up, following the tax rises announced in last month’s budget.
Evoke, the firm behind William Hill, 888, and Mr Green, has told the City it has decided to review its strategic options.
This will include “the consideration of a range of potential alternatives to maximise shareholder value, including, but not limited to a potential sale of the Group, or some of the Company’s assets and/or business units,” it explains.
Evoke says the move is “further to the Company’s announcement on 26 November 2026”, in which Evoke predicted that the rise in gambling duties announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves – including almost doubling the UK’s Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% – would cost it £135m.
Before the budget, the company claimed it could close up to 200 betting shops if Reeves raises taxes on the gambling sector.
Key events
There’s a very subdued start to trading in New York, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision in a little over four hours.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 13.7 points, or 0.03%, at the open to 47,573.96. The S&P 500 fell by 0.10%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.17%.
Berenberg analyst Jack Cummings has said an outright sale of Evoke could work, but a buyer would inherit its substantial debt, Reuters reports.
Entain and Flutter are unlikely buyers due to competition concerns, as all three have significant UK online businesses, he added.
Evoke shares rally by 9%
Although Evoke’s shares are now up more than 9% today at 24p, they’re still down around 60% so far this year.
The Financial Times points out:
Shares in Evoke have more than halved since the chancellor’s plans to raise taxes on the UK gambling sector were first reported in August. The company’s market capitalisation has sunk to just £94.3mn, down from a peak of about £1.7bn in 2021.
Government bond prices are slipping today, as investors grow fretful that central banks may not cut interest rates as much as hoped.
Germany’s 10-year borrowing costs hit their highest level since March this morning, around 2.87%, as traders price out any chance of further European Central Bank rate cuts.
French 10-year yields rose 3.2 basis points to 3.59%, also around their highest since March.
ORR chief John Larkinson stepping down amid railways shake-up
The job of regulating Britain’s roads and railways is about to become vacant, at an exciting time for the rail industry.
John Larkinson has decided to step down as chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in April 2026, after seven years in the role, and two decades at the ORR.
The decision comes as the government brings landmark legislation to reform the railway before Parliament. This bill will create Great British Railways, bringing together 17 different organisations and running Britain’s railways as a single organisation for the first time in decades.
It also comes just days after the ORR abandoned a plan to run the express Manchester-London 7am Avanti service without passengers, after an outcry to run it as a ‘ghost train’ to improve network efficiency.
aLarkinson says:
“There is never a perfect time to move on, but most of my tenure as Chief Executive has been against a backdrop of rail reform, and I feel that the introduction of the Railways Bill into Parliament is an appropriate time to depart. I want to give a new Chief Executive the opportunity and the time to continue the process of transforming the ORR into its new roles set out in the Railways Bill and support the creation of Great British Railways.
Hopes of warming relations between Dutch and China over Nexperia row
Lisa O’Carroll
The Chinese owner of Dutch chip maker Nexperia has formally invited the Dutch management to travel to China for talks, fuelling hopes that the complete breakdown in relations between the two in the wake of the Dutch government’s intervention in the company, will be resolved.
Wingtech, which has not engaged with Nexperia in the Netherlands for months, described the invitation as a “proactive step” which aimed to restore “normal governance” and safeguard supply of chips.
The Dutch government move at the end of September triggered a worldwide ban on the exports of Nexperia chips from the Netherlands after the Communist Party in China backed Wingtech.
While the supply was restored as part of a deal struck between Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping at the end of October, relations between Nexperia and its Shanghai owner completely broke down.
Two weeks ago Nexperia in the Netherlands sent an open letter to Wingtech pleading with it to engage in communications, vital for the chip supply. The breakdown in relations further risked chip supply as Nexperia only makes wafers which are then sent to China for finishing before being exported back to key industries such as the car sector in Europe.
Wingtech said:
“This proactive step of sending a formal invitation for talks represents another important effort by Wingtech to advance the resolution of the dispute and reflects the company’s sense of corporate responsibility. It also demonstrates Wingtech’s willingness to engage in open communication with the Dutch government, the shareholding custodians, and other relevant parties, with the goal of restoring Nexperia’s normal governance structure, restoring a healthy development path, and safeguarding the stability and smooth functioning of the global semiconductor supply chain.”
Shares in Evoke have jumped 5% after it told the City it was considering strategic options.
William Hill owner Evoke considers sale or break-up after UK tax hikes
Just in: UK gambling company Evoke is considering breaking itself up, following the tax rises announced in last month’s budget.
Evoke, the firm behind William Hill, 888, and Mr Green, has told the City it has decided to review its strategic options.
This will include “the consideration of a range of potential alternatives to maximise shareholder value, including, but not limited to a potential sale of the Group, or some of the Company’s assets and/or business units,” it explains.
Evoke says the move is “further to the Company’s announcement on 26 November 2026”, in which Evoke predicted that the rise in gambling duties announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves – including almost doubling the UK’s Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% – would cost it £135m.
Before the budget, the company claimed it could close up to 200 betting shops if Reeves raises taxes on the gambling sector.
European stock markets are mostly in the red this morning, as defence company stocks fall.
Shares in German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall are down 3.3%, UK weapons maker BAE System has dropped by 1.27%, and Italian defence firm Leonardo has lost 2.2%.
Defence stocks are under pressure after Donald Trump hinted he could walk away from supporting Ukraine, and intensified his criticism of European leaders.
Germany’s DAX index has dropped by 0.4% this morning, France’s CAC is down 0.2%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 has bucked the trend with a 0.13%.
Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets, says:
Mainland European equity markets are heading lower in a day that will be dominated by monetary policy out of the Americas.
Notably, the defence sector has particularly suffered this morning, with the likes of BAE Systems, Rheinmetall, and Thales lose traction as the end of the Russia-Ukraine war comes into sight. Unfortunately for Europe, the peace agreement appears to be a deal Trump has formed with Russia behind the back of European leaders whom the President has labelled “weak”.
Nonetheless, with Ukraine losing ground and the US seemingly giving them until Christmas to agree to a deal that sees flies in the face of many of Zelensky’s red lines.
The latest Trump strategy document laid out a plan to focus on the Western Hemisphere, seemingly leaving allies throughout Europe and Asia to fend for themselves. Thus, while Trump’s deal may end the war in Ukraine, Europe will likely have to build up a greater degree of self-reliance which undoubtedly means increased defence spending in the years ahead.
Over in parliament, chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to appear before the Treasury committee to answer questions about the budget.
It could be an awkward day for the chancellor; about 4pm, she will face a rare censure motion in the Commons.
My colleague Andrew Sparrow is covering the drama in his Politics Live blog:
UK’s FirstGroup wins £3bn London Overground rail contract
While SpaceX looks to the stars, down on terra firma UK transport company First Group has won a £3bn contract to operate suburban rail services in London.
FirstGroup has been named the preferred operator for London’s Overground suburban rail network, in a contract worth £3bn over ten years.
First Rail London, its subsidiary, will take over operations in May 2026 from Arriva Rail London, which has managed the network since 2016.
Launched in 2007, the London Overground links areas outside central London, and spans 100 miles and 113 stations.
Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup’s CEO, says:
“The London Overground has greatly improved connectivity in London, with around four million passengers now using the service every week.
We are delighted to have been named as the preferred operator for the service from next May and look forward to welcoming employees who will be joining the Group and to play our part in the success of this vital rail network.
The contract commits FirstGroup to some ‘key improvements’, namely:
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an increase in services on the Mildmay and Windrush lines
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supporting TfL’s Vision Zero commitments to deliver a safer transport network
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working with Network Rail, Alstom and other industry partners to deliver continued high performance and passenger satisfaction
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improving the customer experience through investing in information systems, colleague training, enhanced security and better customer information
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continuing to work in partnership with stakeholders to improve accessibility on the network
Reports that SpaceX is considering an astronomical stock market float next year pumped up Elon Musk’s net worth.
According to The Forbes Billionaire List, Musk’s net worth increased by $3.1bn to $491bn on Tuesday, the International Business Times reports.
ECJ dismisses Ryanair complaint over state aid
Lisa O’Carroll
The European Court of Justice has also supported a ruling over state financing of TAP airline in Portugal.
It dismissed a complaint by Ryanair over the Commisison’s decision to approve restructuring aid of €2.55bn granted by Portugal, a move the Irish airline claimed breached “rescue and restructuring” aid rules.
Ryanair had argued that the Commission had not done its homework and failed to establish whether the post-covid “restructuring plan was realistic, coherent, far-reaching and capable of restoring TAP’s long term viability”.
The aid package was provided in December 2021, nearly two years into the covid pandemic which resulting in the grounding of airlines around the world.
The Commission ruled the funding had constituted state aid, but said this was “complatible with the internal market”.
Lisa O’Carroll
The European Court of Justice has this morning backed two key European Commission decisions against US chip giant Intel.
It has upheld the Commission’s 2023 decision to re-impose a €376m fine on Intel over abuse of its dominant position involving whole or hidden rebates to computer manufacturers who bought all, or almost all their X86 computer processing units from Intel.
However it reduced the fine by around €140m.
The case flowed from a 2009 ruling involving a €1bn fine on Intel over the rebates.
IMF raises China’s growth forecast, urges ‘more urgent’ action
The International Monetary Fund has revised up its forecast for China’s growth, and also urged Beijing to fix “significant” imbalances in its economy.
In its latest assessment, the IMF predicts China will grow by 5% this year and 4.5% percent in 2026, an upward revision of 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points respectively.
This upgrade is due to “welcome macroeconomic policy stimulus measures and lower-than-expected tariffs on China’s exports,” the IMF says.
The Fund also warned that China’s leaders need to take firmer steps to hit their target of shifting to a consumption-led growth model.
They say:
…this transition requires more urgent and forceful expansionary macroeconomic policies, reforms to reduce elevated household savings, and a scaling back of inefficient investment and unwarranted industrial policy support. Such a policy package will also reduce external imbalances.
In the UK housing sector, building firm Berkeley has reported a drop in demand in the run-up to last month’s budget.
Berkeley told the City this morning:
The value of underlying sales reservations was stable for the first four months of the period but has been more subdued since, due to speculation and uncertainty leading up to last month’s Budget.
Despite that, Berekely says it’s on track to meet its pre-tax profit guidance of £450m for this year, following a 7.7% drop in profits in the first half of the year.
Silver at record ahead of US interest rate decision
Silver has hit a new record high, as traders scramble to get their hands on the “devil’s metal” ahead of tonight’s US interest rate decision.
The price of silver rose over $60 per ounce for the first time yesterday, and this morning it’s risen further, to $61.40.
Analysts say a range of factors are pushing up silver; there are shortage fears as demand rises.
Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, explains:
Silvers gains are being driven by deepening structural supply deficits—worsened by falling mine production in major regions and persistently low global inventories—combined with rapidly rising industrial demand from the green-energy transition, especially solar photovoltaics, electric vehicles, and AI-related hardware.
Expectations of US interest rate cuts, which weaken the dollar, also push up the value of precious metals.
The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut US interest rates tonight, by a quarter of one percentage point.
Introduction: SpaceX aiming for $1.5tn valuation
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is aiming to hold one of the biggest stock market listings of all time next year, according to reports.
SpaceX, which designs and manufactures rockets and spacecraft and is pioneering the idea of reusable rockets, is aiming for a valuation over $1trn by selling shares to investors in 2026, Bloomberg and Reuters are both reporting.
Bloomberg says SpaceX is seeking to raise significantly more than $30bn, and targeting a valuation of about $1.5tn for the whole company.
That would be a slightly larger share sale than Saudi Aramco’s IPO in 2019, which raised $29bn, giving the oil giant a valuation of around $1.7tn.
Reuters says SpaceX is hoping to “raise more than $25bn, with a valuation over $1tn”.
A one trillion dollar valuation would put SpaceX into the ranks of the 10 largest US listed companies.
SpaceX is expected to use funds from the public listing to develop space-based data centers, including purchasing the chips required to run them – an idea which both Musk and Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai have shown interest in.
SpaceX is currently developing Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever, which traveled halfway across world in successful test flight in October. It’s designed to take crew and cargo into Earth’s office, to the moon, Mars, and beyond, SpaceX says.
SpaceX also operates rocket flights for other organisations, such as NASA, and runs the fast-growing Starlink satellite internet service.
SpaceX is also understood to be conducting a secondary share sale – allowing insiders to sell shares to other investors – at a reported valuation of $800bn. That put it near against OpenAI in the race for the title of the most valuable private company [The AI company is thought to be preparing for a $1tn IPO next year], but its ambitions now appear to be higher….
The agenda
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10am GMT: Treasury Committee hearing on budget with chancellor Rachel Reeves
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10.45am GMT: Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey speaks at FT Global Boardroom conference: -
Noon GMT: US weekly mortgage market data
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7pm GMT: US Federal Reserve interest rate decision
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7.30pm GMT: Federal Reserve press conference