Gambling Rival Eyes Up Bid For A Betting Firm
From Pokermag.com

Multi-millionaire City broker Michael Spencer is considering a bid for a spread- betting firm put up for sale last week by founder Stuart Wheeler. Poker playing Wheeler, famous for his £5m donation to the Conservative Party in 2001, is selling his 24% stake in the firm to help pay for the soaring cost of repairs to his home, the 15-bedroom Jacobean Chilham Castle near Canterbury, Kent.

Wheeler also owns a family house in Clapham, south London, which he will probably keep for his three daughters, one of whom, supermodel Jacquetta, 21, made her name as the £100,000 face of the Gucci campaigns. Wheeler says: 'My advice to anyone buying a castle is to triple your expected budget.'

Spencer, who is also chief executive of quoted broking giant and knows Wheeler well, declined to comment on his interest in the firm. But a source close to the flamboyant City broker said: 'We haven't done any of the maths yet, but obviously when a business such as this comes up for sale, we would be silly if we didn't have a look at it.'

However, Wheeler, who will be 68 this week, has made clear that he favours a bid for the company led by management. 'A management buyout would be the best outcome - it is definitely my preferred option,' he said. 'That would keep the management happy. It could happen if the price was right.' 'The thing I'm most anxious to avoid is the company being acquired and then broken up,' he said.