They say the bookie always wins. But in the cutthroat world of bookmaking there is one other racing certainty: the mutual antipathy that exists between William Hill and Ladbrokes. Top executives rarely move job between Britain’s two biggest betting shop operators.

It is surprising, therefore, to learn that William Hill recently approached Brian Wallace, the Ladbrokes finance director, about the chief executive’s post vacated by David Harding at the end of September.

The Times understands that, having made it to the final shortlist of two candidates, Mr Wallace was about to be offered the job when he withdrew from the process.

Other names believed to have been considered by Egon Zehnder, the head-hunter retained by William Hill, include: Ian Penrose, the chief executive of Sportech, the football pools operator; Roger Devlin, the Principal Hotels chairman and former corporate development director at Hilton Group; and Graham Bartlett, managing director of the UK retail business of E.ON, the German energy group.

According to industry rumours, Mr Wallace’s decision to withdraw his candidacy may have been linked to a tacit promise that he would – at some point – succeed Chris Bell as chief executive of Ladbrokes. Such a scenario is unlikely to have been well received by Mr Bell.

However, sources close to the situation last night dismissed the rumour as “nonsense”, insisting that the Scot had kept Mr Bell fully informed of the approach from William Hill. “He decided not to pursue the William Hill job for his own personal reasons,” one source said.

Analysts suggested that he may have decided it would be unfair on Mr Bell and his boardroom colleagues to quit just nine months after rejoining the company. He had previously been finance director and deputy chief executive of Hilton Group, stepping down last year after it sold its hotel division to focus on the Ladbrokes gambling business.

Another reason may have been Mr Wallace’s contract at Ladbrokes, which would almost certainly have prevented him from joining William Hill for 12 months.

The uncertainty over Mr Wallace’s future comes at a time of mounting speculation about Ladbrokes itself. The recent fall in its share price is said to have prompted CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm, to take a fresh look at the company. Meanwhile, Ladbrokes itself is rumoured to be considering a bid for Rank, the embattled casino and bingo operator.

Ladbrokes declined to comment while a spokeswoman for William Hill, which has been seeking a new chief executive since Mr Harding’s resignation in June, said: “We are happy with the progress we are making with the process.”

Shares of Ladbrokes, trading at 460p in June, fell by 1¾p to 379½p ahead of today’s trading update for the four months to the end of October. It is expected to maintain full-year expectations, despite a dire run of football results in both the Premiership and the Uefa club competitions.

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