Top Rank for casino with £205m Gala move

Mecca Bingo owner Rank is set to become the UK's biggest casino operator after staking £205 million on a deal with rival betting group Gala Coral.

The proposed acquisition of Gala's 23 casinos – including those in Whitmore Street, Wolverhampton city centre, and in Birmingham - will give Rank's Grosvenor division 58 UK sites.

This takes it above Malaysian firm Genting, which has 45 locations including Crockfords casino in London's Mayfair.

All but four of Rank's casinos are outside London, including one at Bentley Mill Way in Walsall and another at Fiveways in Birmingham, with the company focused on the faster roll-out of its G-Casino format, which attracts a younger, less formal crowd. The Rank business employs more than 3,500 people.

The sale of the casinos will allow Gala Coral to concentrate on its Gala bingo and Coral bookmaking divisions, as well as strengthen its finances amid a net debt figure of £1.3 billion at the end of 2011.

The firm has been seen as ripe for a break-up since a big debt restructuring in 2010 saw many lenders left with shares in the company.

Rank is listed on the London Stock Exchange but majority owned by Guoco, the investment vehicle of Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan.