Lehman Brothers has taken a 7% equity stake and half the debt in Pubmaster, the UK's fourth largest pubs group, in a deal with WestLB, one of Pubmaster's largest shareholders and principal financial backer.

Sources close to the deal said that the agreement had been struck as part of last week's completion of Pubmaster's purchase of Inn Partnership from Nomura's principal finance group, for £523m (€847m).