Slug & Lettuce parent group Laurel Pub Company is poised to go into administration after billionaire owner Robert Tchenguiz failed to find buyers for up to 100 loss-making sites, it has been reported.
The group, which also owns high street chains La Tasca and Yates's, is understood to have put insolvency specialist Kroll on standby as administration looms.
But The Times reports that Mr Technguiz, the property entrepreneur, is planning to launch a bid to buy back the profitable sites after the group's collapse.
Of its 95 loss-making pubs, 90 have already closed down.
Laurel Pub Company declined to comment on the administration report, except to say that "negotiations continue" over the debt refinancing and sale of the loss-making outlets.
Around 1,800 staff are affected by the closures, but Laurel is hoping to relocate as many employees as it can to other sites.
