The Gauselmann Group has acquired 100 percent of Marwyn Gaming from MMP, owners of Praesepe plc, a well-known company in the UK low-stakes gaming industry.  The purchase includes 159 Adult Gaming Centers, nine Bingo Clubs, five Family Entertainment Centers as well as the Internet business, Beacon Bingo Online. 

A new company, Merkur Casino UK Ltd, has been formed and will be chaired by Ulrich Wuseke, CFO of the Gauselmann Group. Praesepe founder Nick Harding will serve as CEO of the new company.

“We are very pleased to be able to announce the purchase of Praesepe which has been completed after a long period of research and negotiations,” Wuseke said. “The company enjoys a very strong reputation across the markets it serves and offers good high street coverage throughout Britain. As well as buying the physical business, which includes of course Europe’s biggest Bingo Club and the internationally famous Crystal Rooms in London’s Leicester Square, we are also investing in a progressive philosophy, an energy and an approach to entertainment retailing which, we believe is unique in the UK.”

“I am delighted that an organization of this caliber has made such an investment in our business and, for that matter, in UK gaming,” Harding added. “Even against the backdrop of the double dip recession and the handbrake of limited investment, my team has registered a series of very significant successes, which have cemented our position as operators of the most successful gaming brands on Britain’s high streets. The financial confidence that we now have will allow us to drive forwards and implement the progressive initiatives which I believe will transform the sectors that we operate in.”