Fitzdares CEO to depart “all-consuming” role after seven years

Fitzdares CEO William Woodhams has announced he will step down from his role with the bespoke bookmaker this Friday, 31 January.

Woodhams has served as the Notting Hill, London-based firm’s boss since July 2018 and has overseen the expansion of its private members clubs, online presence and move into the Canadian province of Ontario.

Woodhams, a former French Connection chief marketing officer, was also named a director at the privately owned business in July 2022, as per Companies House filings.

According to the operator’s latest accounts, for the year to 30 June 2023, Woodhams helped drive a 42% jump in GGR, up from £14.3m to £20.3m against the previous 12 months.

Growth also came as headcount increased from 33 to 38 staff, while the filing said a “key priority” was was “continued investment in our compliance team and best-in-class compliance tools”.

“Key focus of management over the past year has been to build a strong product offering and team to support the growth plans of the company,” bosses added.

The accounts through to 30 June 2023 only included Fitzdares’ operations in the UK and Ireland.

Fitzdares was formed almost two decades ago by former Ladbrokes PR head Balthazar Fabricius, with the business aiming to provide a traditional, white-glove bookmaking service with a focus on horseracing. Customers can still to this day place bets over the phone.

Last May, Fitzdares was the only gambling company to be included in The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Work list.

The operator currently counts sponsorship deals with Premier League side Fulham and England cricket legend Stuart Broad.

Woodhams, who told EGR it was “time for a new adventure”, said: “Bookmaking is all-consuming and often stressful but, most importantly, enormous fun.

“We’ve built a world-class team across three markets and delivered eight-figure profits during my tenure.

“I’m also super proud of the work we have done with racing, especially the recent return to jumps racing at Windsor, our sponsorship of Fulham, our five clubs and our golf course, as well as our work with Stuart Broad, [trainer] Charles Fellowes and future champion trainer Ben Pauling.”

Woodhams said that upon leaving Fitzdares he would assume board roles with two companies: Marble and givestar.

Marble is a London-based ad agency which has worked with Amazon Web Services and Women’s Aid, among others.

Givestar is a fundraising platform that allows users to directly donate via contactless payments.

Posting on X, Woodhams wrote: “This Friday I’ll be stepping down as CEO of Fitzdares after seven glorious years.

“After [Christmas] I chose to move on and I’m excited to sit on a few boards and put my bookie feet up. This sadly ends 200 uninterrupted years of my family’s involvement in racing.”

With strong links to racing, Woodhams has been a vocal critic of affordability checks and their impact on the sport’s finances, including driving dyed-in-the-wool punters to the black market.

Arnold Ash is EGR’s Executive Recruitment Partner. They support ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.