Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) is reportedly to close up to 20 of its 1,780-plus managed pubs, bars and restaurants.
The Birmingham-headquartered group, which was established in 1898, is said to be working with advisers at CBRE to sell the 20 venues, which will be closed for good if they can't be sold.
A spokeswoman for the company said,“As announced in September, M&B reopened the vast majority of its estate, approximately 95%, after the first lockdown ended.
“The remaining sites have been under review on a case-by-case basis since, taking into account factors such as expected footfall and business layout.
“We have taken the difficult decision not to reopen some of these sites and are working with leaseholders on next steps.”
Last month, the group, which also runs the Harvester and Miller & Carter chains, started redundancy consultations with staff.