Nektan appoints GVC’s Hay as new CFO

Gaming platform and services provider Nektan has named Simon Hay, currently of GVC Holdings, as its new chief financial officer.

Hay will officially begin his new role on June 17, joining from GVC where he has been serving as finance transformation director of Ladbrokes Coral Group since August 2017.

Prior to this, he spent more than seven years as a deal advisory director at KPMG and also enjoyed seven years as an accountant with the professional services network’s Australian division earlier in his career.

In addition, Hay had a spell as strategy manager at UK holiday operator Thomas Cook Group.

“We are delighted to welcome Simon as CFO,” Nektan chief executive Lucy Buckley said. “He joins us at a very exciting time for the business as we continue our rapid growth and path to sustained profitability.

“His international expertise will be especially valuable as we expand into new emerging territories, providing leading gaming and casino brands with our technology and premium content globally.”

The appointment comes after a recent spell of activity at Nektan. Last month, the provider raised £2.1m (€2.4m/$2.7m) before expenses through a share placement on the London Stock Exchange.

Also in April, Nektan sold a 57.5% majority stake in its Respin US subsidiary to Alternative Investment Partners Limited for an initial cash consideration of £300,000.

Both transactions took place in the wake of Nektan announcing its results for the third quarter, during which revenue was up by 5.9% year-on-year to £5.4m but down 15.6% on a quarter-to-quarter basis.