The major high street chain has been in the business in the UK since 1934.Charlie Bradley and Eilidh Farquhar Trainee Trends, Showbiz and Lifestyle Writer
16:09, 02 May 2026
Another high street staple is set to disappear as 270 shops confirmed to close.(Image: Getty Images)
The fear that our high streets may become barren is closing in as high street staple has announced it will be closing 270 shops across the UK to try and manage rising costs amid takeover talks. Recently reporting losses of £220million, the William Hill is set to disappear from many local high streets.
This comes after the owner of the business revealed last year that he is in negotiations of a potential £225.3million takeover by Greek lottery and gaming company Bally’s Intralot. However, with rising taxes threatening to push the business over, William Hill and 888 owner Evoke have decided closing hundreds of stores would cushion the blow.
The gambling business has disclosed that its pre-tax losses have more than doubled in 2025 to £549.1million. Largely putting this down to UK tax increases, this figure is a stark jump from the £220.9million reported back in 2024.
As the company is going ahead with the closures, it has confirmed that it has already identified the sites that will be shut down after a thorough company review. However, these have yet to be revealed to the public, reports the Express.
At the moment, William Hill has around 1,300 stores across the UK. While closing 200 stores seems quite small in comparison, this is still anticipated to result in hundreds of redundancies throughout the company. Evoke has yet to confirm how many jobs will be at risk.
Evoke is said to have effectively placed itself on the market last year when it launched a strategic review as the company reportedly struggles against mounting debts and spiralling costs following the betting tax rise in November last year.
William Hill is currently in talks for a £225.3million takeover.(Image: Betty Laura Zapata/Getty Images)
This announcement isn’t the betting shop’s first warning of closures as back in January the company said it would be shutting shops and slashing costs to counteract an anticipated rise in duty costs of up to £135million per year from 2027.
This came off the back of Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiling in the 2025 autumn budget tax hikes for online gambling firms. In the budget announcement, she stated that from April 2026 the remote gaming duty would increas from 21 per cent to 40 per cent.
Additionally, a new online sports betting duty of 25 per cent will also be introduced from 2027, which covers all sports except for horse racing.
Per Widerstrom, chief executive of Evoke, said: “The significant UK duty increases announced in November represented a fundamental shift in the economics of our largest market and will have a substantial impact across the regulated industry.
“We have acted decisively to mitigate the impact of these changes and protect long-term shareholder value, including initiating a strategic review and implementing significant operational actions across the business.”
These confirmed closures come after it was announced that Beefeater and Brewers Fayre are set to disappear from the UK as all of the outlets are set to close down.
Reportedly resulting in almost 4,000 job losses, this move is part of owner Whitbread PLC proposed five-year plan that will see it exit the restaurant sector.
While some of the properties could be sold off after their shut down, some are set to be turned into additional Premier Inn rooms.
This move will affect four Beefeaters and eight Brewers Fayre outlets across Scotland. Whitbread is said to employ around 15,000 staff members per year, and it expects to retain a “significant proportion” or to find employees alternative roles.