evoke completes €600m debt refinancing to cut interest costs

• Evoke successfully priced €600m 8.000% senior secured notes due 2031 through subsidiary 888 Acquisitions Limited
• Deal includes new £200m multi-currency revolving credit facility to replace existing arrangements
• Refinancing expected to reduce annual cash interest costs by £5m and remove significant maturities before 2028

Evoke has successfully completed a €600 million senior secured notes offering to refinance existing debt and improve its financial position. The Gibraltar-based betting and gaming operator, which owns the William Hill and 888 brands, announced that subsidiary 888 Acquisitions Limited has priced €600 million 8.000% senior secured notes due 2031.

The notes are expected to be issued on 24 September 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. The offering is exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933.

Alongside the notes issuance, Evoke has entered into a new multi-currency revolving credit facility worth £200 million, replacing its existing revolving credit facilities. The combination of these financing arrangements forms part of a broader debt restructuring strategy.

The company will use proceeds from the offering and drawings from the new revolving credit facility to redeem in full the existing €582 million 7.558% senior secured fixed rate notes due 2027. Additionally, the funds will refinance amounts under the existing £200 million equivalent senior secured multi-currency revolving credit facility.

“I am pleased that we have secured a new revolving credit facility and debt refinancing, reducing interest costs and removing any significant debt maturities before 2028,” commented Per Widerström, CEO of Evoke.

“The positive interest in the offering is testament to the group’s strengthened performance, strategic progress and return to growth following the reset of our operating model and new value creation plan announced last year.”

The refinancing delivers several financial benefits for the group. Evoke expects cash interest costs to fall by approximately £5 million annually, reflecting both the interest rate differential and expected savings on hedging arrangements. The deal also extends the maturity profile, ensuring no significant debt maturities before 2028.

However, the refinancing will result in a marginal increase in net debt of approximately £17 million on completion, reflecting the additional debt taken on to fund transaction costs. Despite this increase, leverage is expected to remain broadly neutral.

The transaction also improves the currency mix of debt to more closely align with the group’s cash generation capabilities. This restructuring follows Evoke’s strategic reset announced last year as part of its value creation plan.

Evoke shares traded at 58.58 pence on Thursday morning in London, up 1.0% on the day, though the stock remains down 6.8% over the past 12 months.