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11th February 2025(Alliance News) - The sudden departure of Entain PLC's Chief Executive Gavin Isaacs is "unfortunate" and will likely cause investor concerns, analysts on Tuesday said. Shares in Entain were down 11% to 664.00 pence in London on Tuesday.The Isle of Man-based betting operator, which owns Labrokes and Coral, said Isaacs, who only started on September 2, departs "by mutual agreement".Analysts at Davy Research said: "We spoke to the company and they noted that although Isaacs and the board were aligned on group strategy, there were differences between him and the board which were seemingly unreconcilable." Non-Executive Chair Stella David once again assumes the role of interim CEO, a post she held from December 2023 until September 2024. Pierre Bouchut, currently senior independent director, will become non-executive chair on an interim basis. Davy Research notes Entain is at a "critical point" in its turnaround journey, so the timing of this is "unfortunate and will likely cause investor concerns"."This will lead to another period of uncertainty while the market awaits a permanent replacement," it added. Russ Mould at AJ Bell thinks something "must have gone seriously wrong" for Isaacs to leave after just 161 days in the job."One could speculate that Isaacs didn’t fit with the culture of Entain or that he didn’t see eye to eye on strategy. It’s worth noting that previous Entain boss Shay Segev only lasted 189 days in the top job in 2020-21, so the gambling group has form when it comes to short-lived leadership."Looking ahead, Mould believes Entain really needs to find someone with "bold ideas, a keen eye for detail and a grand vision to put the gambling group back on a winning streak. "Previous CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen resigned at the end of December 2023 after the company was hit with a GBP585 million penalty in relation to bribery offences at its former Turkish firm.Stella David said: "Entain is making strong progress in delivering our strategic priorities. We would like to thank Gavin for his contribution. The board is pleased with the group's performance in 2024 and trading so far this year."Entain forecasts financial 2024 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation at the top of the GBP1.04 billion to GBP1.09 billion guidance range.David said: "The board and management remain aligned on the group's focus on operational excellence and maximising shareholder value. I look forward to leading the business as we continue to accelerate our performance."Citi thinks while the news creates "uncertainty", it does not see "major risk to operational performance given Stella’s strong track record as interim CEO before".

On rough calculations, the business model for a number of CMCs for ambulance chasing will become redundant. As per the doc, currently they have a success rate of 26%, which implies average weighted incremental cost of £205 per case to FOS (based on 250 for 74 lost cases and 75 for 26 cases won) - not considering other operational costs. For each cases won, they retain up to 30% of the proceeds. So assuming on a very conservative basis £2k compensation for each successful case, this implies £600 x 26% = £156 on average. Unless they flip the success ratio to >60-80% (from 26% currently), I don't see much sense for them to operate, which clearly is a big positive for CBG. In most likelihood, a lot of pony CMC shops should close, apart from big ones, which may operate on a more selective basis but likely stop FOS from being bombarded with spurious claims.

On another positive note, I have been getting almost daily cold calls from CMCs on diesel gate for last several months now, hopefully that should also end from April :)

I give up. All the best

Suddenly!!?? When did I turn bullish before. I mentioned clearly I made a punt earlier and covered it thanks to the rally. You can buy a stock on technical trading, not necessarily being bullish on it. Anyhow, lets keen the decorum of this forum, which I found helpful as a sounding board, and debate on merits. I agree with a number of comments on this forum that there is potentially a long term value on this name (time will tell), but as few others I am struggling to understand the recent market rationality and hence my post. In anycase, happy for you to voice your bullish arguments on the contrary and leave as may be.

As for bullish, I am bullish on the sector, long easyjet, unfortunately sold IAG bit too early, having bought at 150 in summer. The issues plaguing Wizz and airplane manufacturers bodes well for the sector overall, and those with better operational leverage will make the best of the backdrop.

Thanks Dyorinv12. Even if there is Trump truce in Ukraine. Does that change anything fundamentally for Wizz apart from may be a temporary sentimental driven rally? Their struggle is with the groundings and shortage of new planes and expensive leases.

Likewise. Happy and humble :). Does anyone has access to HSBC research which upgraded Wizz to buy with 19 TP this morning? Want to learn about their supporting arguments.

Glad you asked. It was actually an unlucky punt at 19-20 levels. But managed to reduce my cost through disciplined dip buying and small sell with every move up. So glad m out without any net losses.

Exactly my thoughts. It was either unsubstantial takeover rumors or a short squeeze. If short squeeze - unlikely to sustain as no other fundamental news, and the shares should drop back to where they were before. Takeover is unlikely to materialize - other existing European airlines will run into competition issues, and PEs unlikely to take the punt given macro issues (FX headwinds - USD leases and EUR earnings, Trump tariffs a headwind for Euro), low earning quality and large leases, lower free cash flow. They will struggle to put on a substantial leverage on the business. That leaves international (US or Middle East) players, both of which seem far fetched from strategic perspective.

In any case, fundamental turnaround in the business still couple years away. As management said in recent earnings call, they are suffering from external factors that are outside their control and there is only so much they can do. So, limited positive catalyst (probably lower oil prices - but again limited for FY25 given about 80% fuel hedge for Wizz). Even if Ukraine crisis is resolved, unlikely to make a dent in the business fundamentally, given plane shortages. However, a number of downsides from poor European macros, FX, tariffs etc.

My two cents - did I miss anything? Booked a tidy profit in the run-up and cleared my position. May build up on a substantial fall, but will remain cautious.