Ladbrokes is considering expanding its business in Gibraltar, while William Hill is awaiting approval to set up in the Isle of Man.. Although he only controls a small proportion of the market, the big bookmakers are especially concerned that regular customers with most to gain from avoiding betting tax will defect.The British Horse Racing Board does not oppose the betting industry's desire for a cut in betting tax but believes that such a move should be accompanied by a fuller discussion of the levy.Corals is looking at opening an operation in Gibraltar, Alderney or the Isle of Man. This issue provides the betting industry with a ready-made excuse for not paying a higher levy."Although the issue only affects telephone or credit betting, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the industry, there is concern that the offer of tax-free gambling could reduce the profitability of betting shops. Mr Chandler, for example, charges punters just 3 per cent compared with the 9 per cent that is typically levied on domestic bets. The threat comes ahead of negotiations to finalise the levy that bookmakers contribute to the sport. Racing figures believe that the current levy, which is 1 per cent of bookmakers' turnover, is too low, but they fear that the betting industry will use the current furore over tax to justify freezing the levy. Michael Harris, chief executive of the Racehorse Owners Association, said: "We fear that bookmakers will use this situation to show that they are not in a position to pay a greater price through the levy for the racing product As things stand, they may be able to make that argument.

RACEHORSE OWNERS are warning that the betting industry's eagerness to move offshore could cripple the sport's finances. Last week's announcement that Corals, the bookmaker which was bought by investment bank Deutsche Morgan Grenfell's private equity arm, was planning to relocate its telephone betting service to a tax haven was followed quickly by news that rivals Ladbroke and William Hill planned to follow suit. The proposed move offshore, which is designed to circumvent the 6.75 per cent betting tax, has been stimulated by competition from Victor Chandler's Gibraltar-based operation. People who know him say he plans to leave everything to his grandchildren. There has also been speculation that he might set up a Paul Raymond foundation devoted to charitable works A bigger "roof", perhaps, to ensure his own soul is saved..

Space is so precious in Soho that Warner Brothers, the film company, has had to move from the centre of the country's film and television industry to Clerkenwell Yet Soho Estates has refused to sell out. It is becoming an estate similar to those of the old landed gentry who own most of the rest of London's West End,The big issue now for Mr Raymond, as he moves, a lonely figure, into his twilight years, is what to do with his fortune. Last year, Mr Raymond issued libel writs over allegations made in a recent book, Devil's Disciple, by his former daughter-in-law, Maria Raymond.Then there is the discovery of Mr Raymond's oldest child, an overweight ten-pin bowler called Derry McCarthy, tracked down by the Daily Mail, who claims his father has only ever agreed to meet him once.But while there has been nothing but bitterness from his offspring, Mr Raymond's high-profile tenants have nothing but praise for their landlord, even when assured their comments would be unattributable.No one accuses him of opportunism in his property dealings. Mr Raymond senior's own marriage to his children's mother, Jean, ended when he fell in love with the former porn star Fiona Richmond, who now lives comfortably in Hampshire.Jean, now a state pensioner in Nottinghamshire, is said to have a picture of her ex-husband framed in a toilet seat on the wall. Howard Raymond recently said that the Church only buried his sister after their father agreed to do a deal over "a new roof."Debbie was married twice, Howard once, with another long-term relationship All four unions failed.

There was the drugs- related death in 1992 of his daughter Deborah, whom he is said to have doted on, and the casting into the wilderness of his son Howard, for his former addiction to cocaine.Despite Mr Raymond's professed religious beliefs, the Catholic Church has kept him at arm's length. He lives as a virtual recluse in his fabulous penthouse behind the Ritz hotel in Piccadilly. According to people who know him, he spends most of the day in his dressing gown, still dyes his shoulder-length hair yellow, doesn't cut his finger nails, and professes to be a devout Catholic.Over the past 15 years, as he built his empire, his health and happiness have been drained by a succession of family troubles. In its last "Rich List", the Sunday Times estimated his assets to be around pounds 500m, making him Britain's 33rd richest man. Others, like the now defunct magazine Business Age, have claimed he is the richest.But money can't buy happiness and in Mr Raymond's case, it appears to have been accompanied by a lot of misery.