Pub operator set for £2.3bn debt talks

Britain's biggest pub operator has reportedly started controversial talks to reduce its £2.3 billion debt mountain which are set to spark a bitter battle for control of the company.

Punch Taverns, which owns some 5,000 pubs, has proposed a complex loans-for-equity swap that would allow it to walk away from much of its debt but give creditors a majority stake, according to the Sunday Times.