British bookmaker Ladbrokes became the largest betting shop operator in Ireland when it paid 10m to acquire 12 store chain John Harney's Bookmakers last week.

Based on that per-store valuation Paddy Power's Irish estate is worth 122m, according to Merrion Stockbrokers analyst Brid White, though she pointed out that in practice Power's shops would likely be worth more because of their higher profit margins.

Its UK shops, meanwhile, are worth 32m, she said, applying the £450,000 per store value that William Hill recently paid the British Tote for its shops. That would value the UK and Ireland betting shops at a total of 154m.

"This suggests that the market is placing a value of around 500m on the internet and telephone betting businesses or 19 times operating profits based on our 2006 forecasts, " she said. "It really needs to perform to justify that rating, " she added.

"At this point in time a buyer of Paddy Power [shares] needs to have a good belief in the success of not only the internet sportsbook but also the poker and online casino side".