Punch Taverns, the UK pub operator which has just announced a financial restructuring, has never been far from the headlines. Its latest move is to simplify its two securitisation programmes into one and increase its debt capacity by £250m (€355m).

Robert McDonald, finance director, says the deal is to simplify financial covenants and improve the company's cost of capital, lowering its blended interest rate of 7.6%. He estimates that afterwards Punch's leveraged purchasing power will be around £1bn, a sum that is generating speculation about the group's next move.