Robert Tchenguiz, the property entrepreneur, is poised to place his entire Laurel Pub Company in the hands of administrators after failing to find buyers for almost 100 loss-making outlets, most of which have ceased trading.

The Times understands that Mr Tchenguiz will launch immediately a bid to buy back the business with the exception of the loss-making sites, although analysts believe he could face competition for some or all of the sites from private equity firms including Blackstone.

It is understood that Kroll, the risk consultancy and insolvency specialist, is on standby to step in to handle the so-called pre-packaged administration. It is expected to be formally appointed by the end of the month.

Laurel, which owns such high street pub and restaurant brands as Slug and Lettuce, La Tasca, Yates's and Litten Tree, has become a victim of the credit crunch and a sharp fall-off in trading that has followed the smoking ban.

The group, which has a total of about 460 outlets, was scheduled to undergo a debt refinancing last September but was hampered in its efforts by the debt market crisis. Industry sources said the subsequent trading decline in its drink-led pubs made it inevitable it would now miss the new deadline for refinancing at the end of March. It is understood that Laurel's bankers, Kaupthing and Dresdner Kleinwort, would not reschedule the estimated £165million debt burden unless it was able to rid itself of 95 loss-making sites. However, attempts to sell the units, most of which have onerous leases, appear to have failed and all but five have now been closed.

One industry source said: “Most of Laurel is actually a very good business and overall it is still making a profit. Its shift into food has worked well but it is being killed by a small number of toxic leases on wet-led high street bars.”

R20, Mr Tchenguiz's investment vehicle, acquired Laurel in November 2004 for £151 million, then in May 2005 purchased Yates Group for £202 million. A month later he added 98 SFI Group pubs for an estimated £80 million and in April last year he spent £123 million on La Tasca, the tapas bar operator.

The resultant business, which has a turnover of about £350 million, has been split into two divisions - casual dining and pubs and bars - each with about 230 outlets. The loss-making outlets include more than 40 branded as Yates's, about 10 Hog's Heads, 10 Litten Tree units and an assortment of other brands such as Bar Med, Casa and Mojama. By contrast, the casual dining division, in common with some of its restaurant peers, continues to deliver strong trading and, until the credit crunch, had been earmarked by Mr Tchenguiz as a candidate for a flotation some time this year.

The division is made up of about 90 Slug and Lettuce outlets, 80 La Tasca eateries and 26 HA! HA! Bar & Canteen units. It has a further 30 or so sites awaiting conversion to one of these concepts.

The appointment of administrators will effectively render the equity in the business worthless, although it will not affect the 108 freehold properties which have been spun off into a separate company.

The equity in Laurel is held by a Tchenguiz family trust, Kaupthing and the company's chairman, Ian Payne, and chief executive Paul Symonds. Analysts believe that Blackstone's Tragus restaurant company, which also bid for La Tasca last year, may be interested in Laurel's food-led operations, while JD Wetherspoon is likely to look at some of its Yates's bars.

Novus Leisure, the owner of the Tiger Tiger club chain, yesterday bought seven London venues from the administrators of Soho Clubs & Bars in a deal that will save more than 300 jobs. It bought clubs including Jewel in Piccadilly, Cheers in Regent Street and Village in Soho after the collapse of Soho Clubs & Bars earlier yesterday. Three Soho Clubs & Bars venues - Candy Bar, Sirocco and Revue Bar - remain with the administrators.

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