May 22 2007 - M&B announces plans to enter into a £4.5bn property joint venture with R20, Robert Tchenguiz’s investment vehicle. The plan was to sell and leaseback about 1,300 pubs. M&B and R20 each agreed put in about £300m of equity into the new property company, which would then borrow the remaining £4bn needed to acquire the pubs. Said hedges have been taken out against rises in long-term interest rates on this debt and inflation.