Punch Taverns, Britain’s biggest pub company, is preparing to put as many as 1,000 of its 9,300 pubs up for sale ahead of the forthcoming smoking ban, The Times has learnt.

The company, which declined to comment, is understood to have earmarked for disposal many of the smaller, drink-led tenancies that will suffer most when smoking is banned, on April 2 in Wales and from July 1 in England. Most of Punch’s rivals have already sold or put on the block large tranches of smaller pubs that are less able to mitigate the impact of the ban by serving more food.

Last year, Enterprise Inns, its nearest rival, sold 769 bottom-end sites to Admiral Taverns for £318.1 million and its entire Scottish estate of 137 pubs to Robert Tchenguiz for £115 million.

Marston’s, the Midlands brewer and pub operator, has just put 280 of its smaller pubs up for sale.

Analysts cited Admiral, which has built an estate of almost 2,000 pubs, as a possible bidder for the Punch package. Other potential buyers include InnDeed Group, a fledgeling tenanted pub company backed by Dawnay Day, and London Town, an AIM-listed operator.

The mooted sale package is understood to include a small number of pubs that are either financially unviable or have already been boarded up. However, the inherent property value means that this is unlikely to put off prospective bidders.

Punch is expected to appoint PC Hansen & Co, the pub deals specialist, to sell the package. Analysts said that it could fetch at least £400 million.

Punch shares rose by 52p to £11.93 yesterday amid vague speculation that Mr Tchenguiz may be preparing to take a minority stake in the company.

He owns the Laurel Pub Company and has a 15 per cent holding in Mitchells & Butlers, the All Bar One operator.

Another company in the bid spotlight was Whitbread, which saw its shares fizz 193p higher — up 11 per cent — to a high of £19.34 amid rumours that the leisure giant could be the next private equity target. However, its failure to issue a statement suggests that it has yet to receive an approach.

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