The UK casino market yesterday braced itself for another foreign takeover after Stanley Leisure revealed it had received an offer.

The announcement came two working days after Harrah's, the world's biggest gaming company, effectively broke up a proposed merger between Stanley and London Clubs International (LCI), its UK rival, by bidding for the latter.

The offer for Stanley, which has operations in Britain and Ireland, is understood to have come from Genting, the Malaysian gaming company which was keen on the merger of the two companies because of the sizeable stakes it had built up in both.

Stanley did not reveal the name of the suitor, the offer price or the view of its board.

In a statement, it said after the close of London trading that it had noted recent movements in its share price "and confirms that it has received a proposal concerning a possible offer which the board is currently evaluating".

Harrah's yesterday said that it had ruled out a bid for Stanley, saying the company was focused on LCI's existing properties and development pipeline. It is understood the Stanley offer emerged after the Harrah's bid was revealed last Thursday.

Genting, which has a 20 per stake in Stanley, declined to comment yesterday. It said on Thursday it was "reviewing strategic options" in light of the break-up of the Stanley/LCI merger.

Genting has otherwise stayed silent on Harrah's £279 million (€413 million) bid for LCI, in which Genting has a 30 per cent stake. Stanley's shares rose 19 per cent yesterday to close at 811p, nearly £2 higher than its price before Harrah's bid for LCI. - (Financial Times service)