Keith O’Loughlin was in a coffee shop with his daughter, Mia, while on holiday in the south of Spain last summer when he spotted the former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan sitting at a neighbouring table. Jordan had a bike with him, so O’Loughlin, a former executive at US gambling company Scientific Games, asked if he wanted to join him on a ride.
By the time the pair had been cycling for 20 minutes, they had agreed to go into business together. Last week, the investment vehicle they formed — JKO Play — emerged as a new potential bidder for Playtech, one of the UK’s most prominent gaming companies.
The approach for the FTSE 250 software company pits Jordan against Aristocrat Leisure,
