The Irish bookmaker says it is interested in “acquiring some or all of William Hill's UK shops,” in a bid to significantly increase its UK presence.

The potential sale of William Hill’s UK stores follows the group’s £2.9bn ($3.7bn) takeover by Caesars Entertainment earlier this year, with the new owners immediately signalling it would focus on its US operations, and so would be selling its UK business.

That includes around 1,400 betting shops, with analysts suggesting that the sale could be worth around £1.5bn.

“BoyleSports would certainly be interested in acquiring some or all of William Hill's UK shops, or indeed any other opportunity that makes sense for our business,” a spokesperson for BoyleSports said.

“We have made no secret of our ambition to be one of the principal operators on the UK high street and believe that our retail and digital offerings represents a best in class, safe, and enjoyable proposition for the betting public.

“We already have 21 shops in the UK which, along with our 45 shops in Northern Ireland and our recently upgraded online betting site, gives us a sizeable foothold in the UK retail and online markets. The sale of the William Hill estate presents us with a rare opportunity to achieve the retail scale we have been targeting.”

Also interested in William Hill’s UK operations is Wall Street private equity company Apollo Global Management, as well as the Shaked family, 888 Holdings’ founding shareholders.