A group of private equity investors have left the starting grid in a race to buy TeamSport, the pan-European karting operator.
Sky News has learned that several buyout firms have submitted initial bids for the company, which is expected to fetch more than £150m.
Sources said on Sunday that EMK Capital and Livingbridge were among the private equity firms that submitted first-round proposals.
TeamSport is owned by Duke Street, one of the UK’s best-known procurement companies and former owner of Wagamama, and is the country’s largest indoor karting operator.
Harris Williams, the investment bank, is overseeing the auction.
TeamSport trades from 35 locations in the UK, three in Germany and two in the Netherlands.
It operates in a market of activities and attractions valued at £73 billion across the three countries.
Industry sources said the company’s suitors were attracted by the potential to expand it to 200 locations in existing markets alone.
3i, a London-listed group, also expressed interest in buying TeamSport, but is no longer involved, according to a person close to it.
All parties contacted by Sky News declined to comment.
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