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CEO Ralph Topping inherited many problems when he took the reigns of the United Kingdom online casinos and land based betting giant William Hill plc.  Among those many problems is the enormous debt burden carried by the firm.  Now the company is in even more trouble because of the international credit crunch that has yet to be alleviated.  The company is currently in negotiations with both American and British banks for a GBP 1.2 billion refinancing. 

William Hill is aware that the talks are going to take some time but are making every effort to seal the deal before the release of its preliminary results in February 2009.  The firm has hired a debt advisory specialist from KPMG. 
 
There is fear that credit will be harder to come by as the economy worsens, even for the most stable companies.  It is highly likely that investors of William Hill will encourage the push for the refinance.  Unfortunately, the credit market seems frozen solid at the moment.  

Market numbers have not looked great for William Hill over the past years as shares of declined more than 60 percent.  Analysts believe the drop has been caused largely by fears over debt exposure.  Currently the company is valued at GBP 726 million against debt of GBP 1.4 billion.  GBP 1.2 billion of that debt will be due in 2010, which is right around the corner.  The debt is mostly due to a GBP 500 million deal to purchase Stanley Leisure’s betting shops back in 2005.  There was also a share buy back shortly after that which contributed to the companies debt.

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