Brian Mattingley used to serve as finance director for Gala Gaming Group, operator of Gala Bingo, and is a non-executive director for online casino 888.com. Now he’s also looking to buy Buckingham Bingo, a company that owns ten bingo halls in the north-west of England.

Mattingley has financial backing from Duke Street Capital, the private-equity group that backed him for the management buyout of Ritz Bingo in 1997. Speculation is that Gala and Mecca bingo, the latter of which is part of the Rank Group, are unlikely to want to purchase Buckingham because of monopoly issues.