William Hill's chief executive, David Harding, will have to forgo £5.4 million in share options when he leaves the racing group at the end of this year.

Mr Harding, who has been chief executive at William Hill for seven years, will not be entitled to a number of share options that vest over three years. Instead he will gain around £600,000 from his personal shareholding as well as equity awarded under a long term incentive plan and shares held in treasury.

In total, Mr Harding stands to gain £2.2 million in salary, bonus and shares when he leaves, less than his £2.8 million total pay package last year and a possible £7 million he could have earned if he was still entitled to his share options.

Following today's announcement, William Hill's shares eased 5p to to 603p. William Hill is now looking for a successor and Mr Harding will oversee a handover period with his replacement.

Mr Harding has not stated exactly why is leaving the company that he helped to float on the London Stock Exchange in 2002, or what his plans are.

A representative for William Hill said that Mr Harding was stepping down "for personal reasons" and was "considering his options" in searching for "another challenging role".

Charles Scott, the chairman of William Hill, said: "The board accepted his decision to step down with regret and will continue to work closely with him during the transition phase."

William Hill has produced strong results in the most recent financial year but also revealed a volatile market. Like-for-like gross wins over the 12 months rose by 6 per cent but stripping out gains from gaming machines, over-the-counter betting was flat.

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