William Hill moving offshore?

William Hill has hinted that it will move its online operations offshore due to high rates of taxation and competition from overseas companies.

Ralph Topping, chief executive of the company, told the Financial Times that William Hill is already an international business, with parts of its operations located in different countries.

However, he admitted that the company operates in an industry that “faces enormous challenges, particularly in the UK.”

“In telephone and internet we’re competing in a global market,” he said. “Much more so than we were doing five years ago and we believe the competitive landscape will change even more over the next decade.

“We face worldwide competition from 400 or so English-language betting websites. In these circumstances, clearly we do not have the luxury of being parochial about our future or taking a simplistic stance on complicated issues.”