Shares in evoke plc fell by more than 5 per cent in London Tuesday morning after the betting and gaming operator revealed that revenue for the final quarter of 2025 was down 3 per cent.

In a post-close trading update, the William Hill and 888 owner said that Q4 revenue was expected to amount to £464 million, representing the strongest quarter of the year. 

Quarterly revenue was up 7 per cent quarter-on-quarter but down 3 per cent compared to the same period last year, which benefited from strong operator friendly sporting results.

The improved Q4 performance was driven by gaming (+9 per cent year-on-year), which saw growth across all divisions, including 888casino returning to growth in the UK and strong growth in both Retail (+10 per cent) and International (+14 per cent). 

Betting revenue was down 22 per cent versus a year ago due to the strong prior year comparative.

For the full year period, evoke expects revenue to grow by 2 per cent to £1.79 billion in 2025, with adjusted EBITDA increasing by 14 to 15 per cent to between £355 million and £360 million. 

This would represent an adjusted EBITDA margin of 20 per cent, reflecting the company’s focus on achieving profitable growth and the successful delivery of cost savings through the year.

“During Q4 we made good progress against our strategic plans, delivering our best quarter of the year and demonstrating the underlying momentum in the business,” said evoke CEO Per Widerström. “Our focus on core markets continued to drive our profitable growth, with Italy and Denmark both delivering record quarterly revenues in Q4. This positive momentum has continued into 2026 with a strong start to the year with good growth across all divisions.”

evoke’s board continues to undertake a review of the company’s strategic options but will not be providing forward-looking financial guidance at this time. 

“While the strong strategic and financial progress we made throughout 2025 was encouraging, we were very disappointed with the outcome of the UK Budget in November that dealt a significant blow to both evoke and the wider regulated industry,” continued Widerström. “We continue to believe these tax increases will negatively impact the industry’s economic contribution, customer protection, and will ultimately serve to support further growth in the illegal black market. As a result of these significant UK tax increases, the Board is assessing its strategic options, with a resolute focus on maximising shareholder value.

“We have moved quickly and decisively to execute on our mitigation plans including the closure of retail stores that are no longer sustainable as well as broader cost savings, and we will update shareholders on our progress and updated strategic plan in due course.”

Shares in evoke plc (LSE:EVOK) were down 6.97 per cent to 25.45 pence per share in London Tuesday morning.