SCi Entertainment, the computer games company behind Lara Croft, has had two other bid approaches since disclosing that it had received a “possible offer” at the beginning of the month.

The original “extremely preliminary” move came from Ubisoft, of France, but that has been followed by interest from Time Warner, the 10 per cent shareholder, and an unnamed Chinese company.

It raises the possibility of a bid battle for Britain’s only significant quoted computer games company.

SCi shares rose by 5 per cent on Friday amid speculation about further interest, taking the stock to 349¾p and valuing the company at about £300 million.

However, it is not clear that any of the bidders will be able to meet the expectations of management, led by Jane Cavanagh, the low-profile chief executive.

SCi has long been unhappy with its valuation and, despite a recent profit warning, says that its margins are the highest in the industry.

Close Brothers stopped advising the company after a previous sale process foundered because of the high valuation that Ms Cavanagh had sought.

SCi is advised now by Citigroup and KBC Peel Hunt. SCi became vulnerable when the shares were heavily sold after a profit warning in the summer, when managers admitted that they had failed to predict the collapse in PlayStation 2 games sales following the introduction of its successor.

The company also misjudged the popularity of the Nintendo Wii.

Ubisoft is home to the Tom Clancy Splinter Cell series of games and has a market value of €2.1 billion (£1.4 billion).

SCi is already linked to Time Warner through an agreement to develop games based on the media giant’s films.

There have been suggestions that Electronic Arts (EA), the largest computer games company in the world, is also interested – although the picture is complicated by EA’s investment in Ubisoft.

EA is the largest shareholder in Ubisoft, with a 24.9 per cent voting interest, greater than the founding Guillemot family.

Ten days ago, John Riccitello, the chief executive of EA, during a rare visit to Britain, praised the technical and creative skills of British developers and said that his company was committed to investing in the country.

EA owns Criterion Software, which is based in Guildford, Surrey, makes of the Burnout series.

Crucial to any deal will be the attitude of Robert Tchenguiz, the property and leisure entrepreneur, who is close to Ms Cavanagh.

Mr Tchenguiz holds around 14 per cent of the shares, but speaks for about 22 per cent because of further contracts for difference that he holds.

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