Ritblat eyes Merchant Inns

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated: 04:45 EST, 13 December 2009

Property tycoon Sir John Ritblat, the former British Land chairman, is expected to table a bid this week for Merchant Inns, the upmarket pubs group he halfowned before it went into administration in October with debts of more than £33m.

Owed money: Ritblat is owed £13m by the group.

The chain of seven pubs in the Home Counties, where Ritblat teamed up with pubs operator Robert Breare in 2007, could fetch up to £20m.

Merchant expanded rapidly, but 50% shareholder Breare quit in August following a row and administrators were appointed after the discovery of 'unknown' financial liabilities at the business, which is still trading.

More than 300 trade creditors are owned nearly £1.2m and the taxman a further £1m while unsecured creditors, owed £12m, will get nothing.

Merchant Inns' bank Coutts, owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, will get back £14m of loans while Ritblat is owed £13m.

Documents last week revealed that Merchant's directors, who included Gareth Jones of Colliers CRE, the property agent Ritblat chairs, had cut the value of the pubs' freeholds by £10m.