Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn and Beefeater restaurant brand, reportedly plans to offload 250 of its 440 pub-restaurants in the UK.

The Times reported that Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), which runs pubs, bars and restaurants across the UK, is said to be the frontrunner in acquiring these sites, estimated to have a value of £600m ($769m).

M&B is the owner of Harvester and Toby Carvery.

Other firms, including Greene King, Heineken, Marston’s and Punch, have also been approached for Whitbread’s pubs.

According to the Mirror, Whitbread had previously signed a deal with M&B, exchanging 44 pub-restaurants for 21 M&B hotels.

Whitbread is reportedly running a tight process and is seeking to divest its sites to established pub operators to evade a lengthy disposal process.

The sites that Whitbread intends to divest are said to be either marginal or loss-making, with most of them located near Premier Inn.

This report comes after Marston's Brewery, another UK-based pub and hotel operator, decided to put up 61 pubs for sale following a review of its estate.

In March 2023, Marston’s announced its plans to sell its freehold pubs located in England and Wales.

To execute this sale, Marston’s appointed business property adviser and pub specialist Christie & Co.

The selected pub portfolio for sale includes a mix of leased, tenanted, retail and managed pubs.