Rank Group enters CEO transition as John O’Reilly announces his retirement

Rank Group is entering a leadership transition following CEO John O’Reilly’s retirement announcement. O’Reilly will step down before the end of January, with his retirement effective January 29. The company said he will continue to support Rank through the end of the 2025-26 financial year.

Chief Financial Officer Richard Harris will become interim CEO on January 30 while Rank conducts a search for a permanent replacement. Harris has served as an executive director on Rank’s board since joining the company as CFO in May 2022.

O’Reilly joined Rank as CEO in May 2018. Within months, the company completed the acquisition of Stride Gaming. During his tenure, Rank also managed operations through the Covid-19 period and returned to profit following the pandemic.

More recently, Rank implemented land-based gambling reforms that allowed its Grosvenor casino business to increase its gaming machine suite and introduce sports betting terminals inside casinos for the first time.

O’Reilly also led the company through the UK gambling review and the subsequent white paper. The measures resulting from the review resulted in costs of about £1 million for Rank’s digital division between April and June 2025.

Earlier in the year, O’Reilly publicly criticized a proposed UK gambling tax increase, which was later confirmed by the Chancellor in November.

“On behalf of the board and everyone at Rank, I would like to express my sincere thanks to John for his leadership of and passion for Rank,” Chairman John Ott said. “His extensive gambling industry knowledge and experience, as well as great operational skills, have combined to ensure that Rank is well positioned to build on the direction he established.

“In addition, he has contributed significantly to the betting and gaming industry for decades. We wish him all the very best.”

Harris will assume the interim CEO role while remaining responsible for financial oversight. Before joining Rank, he was CFO at Foxtons Group and previously held roles at Laird and Marks and Spencer.

“As interim CEO, the board are confident Richard will provide both important continuity and the strategic leadership required to drive the performance of the business and maximise shareholder returns,” Ott said. “The board and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him to realise those ambitions.”

“I am pleased Richard will take Rank to the next stage of what I am sure is a bright future. I wish the group every success,” said O’Reilly. “It has been a privilege to lead Rank for the past seven and a half years. I’m proud of all that we have accomplished in that time.”

The leadership transition follows other recent developments. In November, Ott, formerly a senior advisory partner at Bain & Company, became Rank’s chairman, succeeding Alex Thursby, whose departure was announced in September.

Weeks later, Rank disclosed €7.1 million ($8.3 million) in payment fraud affecting its Spanish operations. The company said the matter was reported to Spanish law enforcement, and an internal investigation was launched.

In its first-quarter trading update released in October, Rank reported a 9% year-on-year increase in revenue for the quarter ended September 30, the opening period of its 2025-26 financial year.

Net gaming revenue for the quarter totaled £210.2 million. Grosvenor digital revenue rose 31%, while the Mecca online segment posted a 9% increase. Revenue in Spain declined 1%, which Rank attributed to previously reported platform capacity issues.