Flutter finance chief quits as playing group lists within the US
- Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson played key role in navigating Flutter to US listing
Flutter’s chief finance officer has stepped down as the gambling group shifts its primary listing to the US.
UK-based Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson has left over concerns about the amount of time he would have to spend away from his family following Flutter’s move across the Atlantic.
The betting group, which owns Paddy Power and Betfair, said it was in Edgecliffe-Johnson’s ‘best interests’ to leave his role as the group’s chief finance officer and executive director.
He played a key role in navigating Flutter towards its US primary listing.
A Flutter spokesman said: ‘Following the need for extensive executive management time to be spent in the United States, the board has recently engaged in a discussion with Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson concerning his ability to meet that requirement in light of his family commitments in the UK.’
Making a move: Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson played a key role in navigating Flutter towards its US primary listing
He has been replaced by Rob Coldrake, who was the international arm’s finance boss. He previously spent 14 years in TUI Travel in a variety of financial roles, having started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The announcement came as Flutter swapped its primary listing from the FTSE 100 to the Nasdaq.
The Dublin firm made its Wall Street debut in January, eyeing deeper pools of investor cash as boss Peter Jackson said New York was its ‘natural home’.
The company has enjoyed huge growth in the US with its FanDuel business as states continue to legalise sports betting. FanDuel has market share of more than 50 per cent in the United States and the group now makes around 40 per cent of its revenues in the country.
And last month shareholders backed shifting Flutter’s primary listing at the group’s annual meeting.
The gambling giant will keep a secondary listing in London, but rules dictate it will no longer be in the FTSE 100.
The decision to jump ship has caused further misery to the London market, which has seen a steady flow of businesses calling it quits.
Construction giant CRH and plumbing equipment supplier Ferguson both switched their listing from London to the US last year.
Flutter shares in its London listing lost 0.7 per cent, or 100p, to 14870p yesterday following the announcement that the move had been made.
