Heineken has tightened its grip on Globe Pub Company after the Dutch brewer spent about £90m buying up a large swathe of the struggling pub chain’s debt at a substantial discount.

The move sees Heineken lift its holding of Globe’s £200m of senior debt from 30 to 85.7 per cent at a price of about 50p on the pound. It also sees Heineken acquire £18m, or 31.6 per cent, of the pub group’s junior debt and £50m, or 21.7 per cent, of its syndicated bank debt at a similar discount.