Porter Black's Lionheart Inns go on the market

Porter Black's Holdings, the Devon-based pub operator, is the latest company to be hit by the downturn in the sector.

Receiver KPMG was called in on June 4 to the 33-strong pub group after its backers Bank of Scotland pulled the plug.

The group has 16 of its Lionheart Inns now up for sale.

The Lionheart pubs are located in the South of England and include the Porter Black's music bars in Bedford, Chippenham and Yeovil and the S bar in Battersea, London. Many of the sites are in villages, secondary towns and around London.

The company, which was set up in 2002, purchased the 16 managed houses from the Ann Street Group in July 2002, which traded under the name of Lionheart Inns. It has signed a deal with Regent Inns to buy 17 of its unbranded managed pubs, but as the deal has not yet been completed these sites are not up for sale.

A spokesperson for KPMG said: "All the 16 Lionheart Inns are up for grabs but there is a situation with the Regent Inn sites and we are in discussions with them."

Asked on whether the sites are to be sold as a package or individually the KPMG spokesperson said: "It depends on who comes out of the woodwork".