London-listed Rank Group has appointed Cliff Baty as its interim Chief Financial Officer as it remains on the hunt for a new Chief Executive Officer. 

Baty has over a decade of experience in CFO roles, most recently serving as Manchester United’s CFO from 2016-2024. 

He has also held key positions at Sportech, Ladbrokes and EY, and joins the firm which is searching for a new CEO following the retirement of former boss John O’Reilly. 

Baty brings expertise in strategic and financial planning, investor relations, financial controls, international business operations and stakeholder management.

He also joins just weeks after the company reported strong half-year results, with operating profit growing to £40.6m compared to the £33m for the 2024/25 trading period.

Baty fills a currently vacant role due to Richard Harris taking over as interim CEO.

Rank Group is currently undergoing a formal search process to identify a permanent CEO, but outgoing chief O’Reilly exclusively told iGaming Expert that it would “be hard to find a better candidate” than Harris for his successor. 

“He’s a CFO, but he’s far more than that – he’s commercial, he understands the game and he understands this business inside out,” O’Reilly explained. 

Navigating incoming headwinds

The Berkshire-based business will be determined to get this leadership restructure right. O’Reilly took over as chief in 2018 and managed to transform a then-underperforming Rank Group in his eight-year tenure, but choppy waters are ahead for the firm and the wider industry. 

The company will expect its Q4 results to be affected by ongoing tax and statutory levy developments in its UK home market, and remote gaming duty in the UK is set to increase from 21% to 40% in April this year, with Rank estimating a £46m annualised impact on UK online operations pre-mitigation.

Despite incoming headwinds, the firm’s share price has managed to climb in the past 12 months, growing by over 2% to 91.7p. The business has also caught a lucky break in comparison to some as the slashing of Bingo Duty will benefit its Mecca Bingo business.

Its market cap is currently in excess of £429m and the business will be hoping that its appointment of an experienced C-suite figure will help to mitigate what could be a turbulent time for the iGaming industry.