Mitchells & Butlers' shareholders must be wondering how it has come to this. Punch's opportunistic approach to the wounded UK pubs group, confirmed yesterday, comes just days after M&B was forced to announce a strategic review following a failed property plan resulting in a £274m after-tax hedging loss.

M&B's battered shareholders may feel the deal offers some benefits - most crucially, given market conditions and M&B's recent travails, it looks deliverable. The mooted deal would give each group's shareholders half of the new entity, with another £175m for M&B investors.