Whitbread’s suitors are lining up for a portfolio of 250 pub-restaurants, with Mitchells & Butlers thought to be the front-runner.
The Premier Inn operator has hired Goldman Sachs to run the £600m sale, insisting that only operators are invited to bid, to speed up the process.
Greene King, Heineken, Marston’s and Punch are also believed to have signed non-disclosure agreements.
