Swashbuckling entrepreneur Luke Johnson, chairman of Belgo restaurants, remains tight-lipped over strong rumours that he is preparing to put in a bid for the Waterstone's chain of bookstores.

Johnson is said to be working to raise the finance for a management buy-in bid for the bookshops group which is currently owned HMV Media and has an estimated worth of £250 million. Such a deal could see Johnson, noted for his no-holds-barred management style, shaking up the cerebral world of book retailing.

HMV Media bought Waterstone's from WH Smith in a deal worth a reported £300 million in 1998. After a rocky period, recent results from Waterstone's are considerably improved but HMV Media wants to sell the operation to reduce its £500m debts.

Johnson, son of controversial Spectator writer Paul Johnson, bought PizzaExpress In 1993 for £18m and transformed it into an outfit with an estimated value of £575 million. Despite his estimated personal fortune of £60 million, he has been hoping to pull off a major deal for some time.

Earlier this year, he tried to buy Whitbread's 3,000 pubs - a deal which fell through but could have been worth £1.6 billion. He is likely to have competition for the purchase of Waterstone's with German media company Bertelsmann and rival bookshop company Borders, who run the Books etc stores, also said to be interested.

Tim Waterstone opened his first bookshop in 1982 on Old Brompton Road in Earl's Court. The company now has 220 shops around Britain, Ireland and Europe as well as a sharp online operation. With backing from the Prudential's private equity division PPM, Waterstone recently tried to buy back the business he founded but his reported £180 million bid was rejected as too low.