High street bookmaker William Hill Plc and Grupo Codere SA have sold their Italian joint venture William Hill Codere Italia (WHCI) to Intralot Italia for $5.5 million (£4.4 million).

The disposal has come on the back of a strategic review of its position within the Italian sports betting market. William Hill said the number of retail betting licences won by WHCI was insufficient in scale to provide long-term return and the cost of acquisitions with the Italian regulatory framework made further investment unattractive.

The disposal will result in a write off of some £1 million in the Group’s 2008 interim accounts after accounting for operating losses in 2007 and to the date of disposal in 2008.

Nevertheless,William Hill and Grupo Codere have said they remain committed to their joint venture in Spain, which has opened eight locations in Madrid.