A new board of directors has been appointed to revitalise the business of heritage Spanish gambling group Codere SA. 

An announcement made by ‘Nueva Codere’, the business identity of Codere under the ownership of bondholders, confirmed that Christopher Bell had been approved as Non-Executive Chairman of the company.

The appointment of Bell, the former Chief Executive of Ladbrokes Plc and former NED of Rank Entertainment and XL Media, was proposed last January.   

Approved by bondholders, Bell will lead Codere’s new board of directors made up of eight members. He is joined by former Group CEO Vicente di Loreto, who retains a seat on Nueva Codere’s board, maintaining corporate governance duties he has held since January 2018.

Bondholders informed that former Morgan Stanley Executive Director Aidan de Brunner had chosen to serve as the board’s Class-A independent advisor.

Meanwhile, Antonio Moya-Angeler, the former Managing Director of Advent International’s South American PE Fund, will serve as Qualified Shareholder Director.

The remaining seats on Nueva Codere’s board will be filled by ‘Class-B’ advisors –  Laurence Biver, Isabelle Lambert, Mathieu Kakal and Sandra Egan.

The board will be tasked with developing a 2022-to-2026 business plan for Codere, aiming to bring the gambling group back to its ‘pre-pandemic levels of activity’.

Closing 2021 trading, bondholders ended the embattled firm’s listing on the Madrid Bolsa, as debtors agreed, calling for a break-up of the Spanish gambling group’s assets. 

Bondholders are reported to want an individual break-up of Codere assets, beginning with the firm’s loss marking Argentine business unit.

Chris Bell has commented: “I believe that Nueva Codere has a promising future. The capacity and experience of the management team, together with the talent of the directors who accompany me, make me very optimistic about the new phase that the company is starting.