Mitchells & Butlers will discover today which private equity groups, if any, are willing to take up its offer of partial stakes in the pubs group, having concluded that market conditions have all but killed off the prospect of an outright cash offer.

A deadline of today has been set for bids, with a bid from its rival Punch Taverns of a 50-50 merger plus £175m cash payment the only tangible offer on the table.