Embattled LSE-listed evoke has raised concerns over the amount of debt refinancing that will have to take place within the business before the start of 2028.
In its 2025 Annual Reports and Accounts, the company reiterated that it will have to demonstrate “a sustainable and materially improved level of profitability and cash generation”.
This improvement will have to come in advance of 2028, when a substantial portion of its colossal £1.9bn debt hole is due to be refinanced.
The William Hill, 888 and Mr Green owner has two major loans totalling £769m that officially mature in July 2028, while some of the £1.9bn is not due until the beginning of the next decade.
It also has a £200m Revolving Credit Facility, of which evoke has already drawn £119m from, but the lenders providing the £200m put a strict rule in their contract.
If evoke has not paid off or refinanced the majority of the £769m debt hurdle by January 2028, the lifeline gets pulled.
Future results, as stated by evoke itself, will have to be an improvement on its FY25 performance.
While Chief Executive Officer, Per Widerström, described the firm’s 2025 as a “step-change in underlying profitability”, loss after tax shot up by 149% from £220.9m to £549.1m, and net debt for the year, as stated above, came in at £1.9bn.
There is also the proposition of a sale. The business has until this time next week to respond to a pending offer of 50p per share (around £225m in total) from Bally’s Intralot for the entirety of evoke.
A sale of evoke has been a confirmed possibility ever since the company announced its strategic review back in December 2025.
evoke not the only one carrying debt
To add more question marks, Bally’s Intralot itself is currently carrying a 10-figure sum of debt.
On the offer and the review itself, Mark Summerfield, Chair of evoke, commented: “While no conclusions have been reached and there can be no certainty as to the outcome of the review, the Board considers this process to be an important component of its broader assessment of the Group’s long-term viability and financial resilience.
“On 20 April 2026, in response to media speculation the Group announced that in connection with the ongoing strategic review, it was in discussions with Bally’s Intralot S.A. regarding a possible offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the Group at a price of 50p per share.
“At the date of this report discussions remain ongoing.”
The concerns regarding the combined debt that a possible deal would mean once Bally’s Intralot and evoke integrated have already been discussed to no end.
However, evoke already has troubles turning around its own fortunes, particularly in William Hill’s home of the UK, where tax on Remote Gaming Duty recently rose to 40%.
Regarding UK tax rises, Summerfield added: “I am concerned that this reflects a failure of Ministers to understand the harm this will do to player safety and the damage it will cause one of the UK’s most successful global industries; I doubt it will even raise the forecast additional taxes as it will lead to reduced investment in the UK market and greatly promote the growth of the illegal black market.
“In response, your Board has had to act decisively to protect shareholder value and to assess all strategic options available to the Company.”
Whether or not it is a failure on the UK government’s part, it certainly will not be aiding the business in its desperate attempt to increase profitability while debt looms over it.
The company has said it will “mitigate approximately 50% of this [tax rises] impact from the first full year of implementation through supplier savings, operating cost efficiencies, selective reductions in marketing expenditure, retail store closures, and adjustments to customer propositions such as reduced bonusing”.
For FY25, evoke’s revenue rose 2% year-over-year to £1.78bn and EBITDA was up 43% from £211.4m to £301.3m.
But losses widened and, without huge progress in the next 18 months, or potentially a lifeline from Bally’s Intralot, the danger of having to quickly pay off £769m of debt will start to become a very realistic proposition.
