The website of Genting Berhad bombards the visitor with more information than could possibly be required. They have so many subsidiaries and companies, from resort hotels and cruise lines to paper mills and plantations, and they are anxious that you should know them all. On the other hand we have Maxims Casino that seems to be cloaked in deep English reserve and barely visible other than to a chosen few.

Odd bedfellows, yet Genting International (UK) Limited announced September 21 that it had acquired the British company Coastbright Limited. Two days later came news that there is a conditional agreement with Gala Group Ltd to purchase Maxims Casino in London’s West End for STG10.5 million, a figure far lower than originally being sought in 2001 when Gala was seeking a buyer.

Maxims Casino is an exclusive members club in Palace Gate, Kensington. The agreement between the two companies should go ahead early next year, after the transfer of the gaming licence to Coastbright. Until then Gala will continue to run Maxims.

Genting International (UK) Limited is a subsidiary of Genting International PLC, an Isle of Man registered company, quoted on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, with its Head Office in Hong Kong. The parent company, Genting Berhad, started life in 1965 as a single hotel property in the Malaysian Highlands, soon to become the famous Genting Highlands Resort. Three years later it became a private listed company.

Genting has a proven record in gaming with its company Resorts World Bhd that runs the gaming, hotel and resort-related operations. The company’s seven major business divisions are Leisure & Hospitality, Plantations, Property, Power, Paper, Oil & Gas and E-Commerce & IT Development.

A force to be reckoned with and, as Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay the Chairman of Genting International has said, they are delighted with the prospect of owning Maxims and excited about the outlook for the gaming industry in the UK – where they look forward to having a growing presence.

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