BOOKMAKER William Hill is raising £350m by issuing new shares and scrapping its 2008 dividend.
The move is part of a wider plan to restructure the group’s £1.45bn of bank facilities, most of which comes up for renewal in March, 2010.
William Hill, which has 2,300 shops in the UK and Ireland, said it hoped to emerge from the process with the flexibility to execute its growth strategy.
The firm said revenues in the eight weeks to February 24 rose by 9% and total gross win – the amount left by losing punters – rose by 2% on the same period in 2007.
Operating profits for 2008 fell by 3% to £278.6m.
Chief executive Ralph Topping said the group continued to perform well.
