Whitbread is thought to have received three firm bids of more than £900m for it’s David Lloyd Leisure Division.

Bids are understood to have been made by Simon Halabi – owner of Esporta fitness, MidOcean Partners, owner of LA Fitness and property company London & Regional, according to reports in The Times this morning.

The group, which confirmed last week it had received “a number of unsolicited approaches”, is believed to have asked its adviser Morgan Stanley to assess the bids before making a recommendation to the board.

Whitbread refused to comment on the current speculation but said last week it was still in the early stages of assessing the bids.

Industry insiders warned the company would have no option but to pursue any deal on the table of over £900m.

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By Emily Manson

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