When William Hill decided to activate its ‘call option’ to buy back the 29% minority stake that belonged to Playtech, the actions were very clear.
“We want all of our money thank you.”
A truly great firm does everything in its power to prevent money leaking from its coffers, and William Hill are proving that they will leave no stone unturned in their search for such leaks. Every penny counts whether it’s £425m or just £400: a leak is a leak is a leak.
William Hill has joined forces with Crimestoppers in a bid to prevent further attacks on its retail stores in North London. The partnership, which is also supported by the Metropolitan Police, has been created to prevent the betting shops from being targeted by criminals. It is paramount to William Hill that they provide their employees, and customers, with a safer environment in which to wander; whilst also saving profit from running out of the door in a swag bag.
The Crimestoppers methodology centres around spreading awareness whilst offering a strictly anonymous service for information appertaining to crimes, in return for cash rewards that can rise upwards of £10,000. The immediate focus will be on the William Hill betting shops in Haringey and Hackney.
Regan Hook, London Regional Manager for Crimestoppers, stated: “Staff and customers of William Hill should be allowed to enter a betting shop without the fear of robbery or threatening behavior. Innocent people who are victim to this crime type are often left extremely distressed and fearful, which is why we are launching this campaign and urging the public to get in touch with Crimestoppers if they have any information on a betting shop robbery, safe in the knowledge that their identity remains anonymous.”
William Hill Director of Security, Bill South, backed up those words with a statement of his own: ““William Hill is delighted to once again be working with Crimestoppers and the Metropolitan Police on this important local initiative. I am glad to say that year-on-year figures on robberies in betting shops continue to fall, and that must, in part, be down to our good working relationships with local forces and Crimestoppers.”
The violent side of the William Hill robberies hit the news just prior to Christmas when a man was finally jailed for an attack on a William Hill shop in East London, after a two-year manhunt. Mohammed Ali was famous for stinging like a butterfly, but his namesake from Bow in East London, was trying to create a sting of his own, armed with an AK-47 machine gun. Ali ran away with £400 in that attack and was jailed for seven years at the Old Bailey.
