Esporta has suggested Whitbread is thinking about selling David Lloyd Leisure after it picked up one site that was previously in its rival’s development pipeline.
It is also considering buying three others that Whitbread had earmarked for development.
Esporta said a refinancing in 2005 had given it the fire power to repay £115m to shareholders and launch a £150m bid for the 14-strong Next Generation Clubs.
It said it would be shortly lodging a bid for the first round of the Next Generation auction. It did not rule out teaming up with a property investment company at a later stage.
Esporta plans to open a new club in Norwich, in May. A further four sites have been continually bought in Worcester, Gloucester, and Basingstoke and Havant, in Hampshire.
Whitbread denied it had called a halt to expansion. It said it had decided to cut its pipeline to two or three sites following a review last year. This did not mean David Lloyd was doing to be sold, it said.
References: Financial Times 14/02/06 page 19, The Times 14/02/06 page 42 (Need to know), page 46, page 51 (City Diary), The Daily Telegraph 14/02/06 page B5, The Guardian 14/02/06 page 29, The Independent 14/02/0
