William Hill owner Evoke announces 1% revenue growth for Q1

Evoke has announced continued growth for the third quarter in a row as the company confirmed revenue of £437million for Q1 in 2025. 

The owner of brands including William Hill and 888 announced their results to the city this morning, Friday 25 April. It also sees EBITDA up from £312m for the full year of 2024 to over £330m in the last twelve months to the end of Q1. 

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The company’s full year revenue growth of 5-9% was therefore missed in Q1, however as of 22 April, the year-to-date revenue growth is just short of the company’s target at 4%. 

Per Widerstorm, CEO of Evoke, stated: "The Q1 performance is consistent with the update provided at our full year results, with improvements in April supporting revenue growth in the year-to-date of approximately 4%. 

“While Q1 revenue was below our 5-9% annual growth target, Adjusted EBITDA is significantly higher year on year, with LTM Adjusted EBITDA reaching more than £330m. 

“This reflects the Group’s significantly more efficient operating model and our clear focus on creating value through sustainable, profitable growth.”

Its UK online sector was down 1% on revenue compared to Q1 in 2024 and Sean Wilkins, Chief Financial Officer of Evoke, explained why that is the case. 

“We certainly had some impact from safer gambling measures,” stated Wilkins. “There was one less day in the quarter than the previous year, which doesn’t sound like much, but actually it’s worth one full percentage point worth of growth. 

“And I think to a certain extent, our customers had depleted wallets going into Q1 because our Q4 margin was so high for us as a business.”

Revenue in retail, of which is a major part of the William Hill brand, was down 6% for the year. Again, Wilkins explained why that was the case. 

“We put some new machines into the retail business, about 5,000. These are performing very well and should drive a significant improvement in gaming revenue run-rates and market share gains.”

In terms of Evoke's international ventures, revenue was up 11% with continued double-digit growth across core markets. Plus, the company recently acquired Winner.ro in Romania – a purchase that is now starting to prove its value to the business. 

Despite all the positive news at Evoke, including a bonus payout to staff for the first time in five years, there remains plenty to do. 

Widerstorm concluded: “While it is encouraging that we are back in growth, and delivering our promise of sustainable and profitable growth, we must double down our efforts to ensure that this profile continues to improve. 

“Q1 revenue growth of 1% was behind our plans, and lower than our revenue guidance target of 5-9%. We have seen stronger trends in April and we’re moving at pace to position Evoke for long-term success.”