Duke Street Capital, the European private equity firm, is considering a hostile bid for Esporta, a quoted leisure company, which would be the first hostile public-to-private acquisition since Philip Green bought Sears in 1999.

Market speculation on Monday obliged Duke Street to acknowledge it was considering a bid for Esporta at 80p a share, a small premium to the market price. The directors of Esporta quickly rebuffed the offer, saying they considered the company to be worth far more. Fund managers with shares in Esporta said the directors' target is 100p a share.