Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), Britain’s biggest brewer, has racked up costs of at least £50 million in defending itself against the joint bid from Heineken and Carlsberg, The Times has learnt.

The group, which last month recommended an 800p-a-share bid from its continental suitors, revealed yesterday that it had spent £9 million on defence costs in the period to December 31. The final cost is expected to be several times that figure.

The costs have been higher than normal because of the parallel legal dispute between S&N and Carlsberg over their Baltic Beverages Holding joint venture. The main beneficiaries have been its advisers UBS, Deutsche Bank, Rothschild and FIH, of Denmark, and its lawyers, Linklaters and the Swedish firm Hammarskiold.

Despite the board recommendation, a counterbid is seen as an outside possibility, with analysts citing Anheuser-Busch, the Budweiser brewer, as the likeliest candidate. Asked if he felt a bid was likely, John Dunsmore, S&N’s chief executive, replied: “Who knows? We’ve done everything we can.”

In its last results as an independent company, S&N reported flat 2007 pretax profits of £444 million from continuing operations, with revenue up 8 per cent at £4.15 billion. Earnings per share rose by 0.6 per cent to 34.9p, although after exceptionals there was a loss per share of 10.9p.

While its Russian, Indian and Chinese units grew strongly, its European operations found the going tough. Brasseries Kronenbourg, its French unit, was hit by the poor summer weather, and there was a £376 million hit on the sale of its wholesale arm.

In Britain, underlying operating profits fell by 7.8 per cent to £213 million on flat turnover of £1.86 billion as poor weather and the pub smoking ban hit beer sales. However, S&N said that it had continued to take market share from its rivals, with volumes of John Smith’s increasing by 1 per cent.

The group said that it had put up prices in Britain by about 5 per cent.

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