About 100 enquiries from prospective buyers have been received by administrators at SFI, the bar estate that includes the Slug and Lettuce chain.

SFI went into administration last Friday and 26 sites have since been closed, with the loss of 330 jobs. Twothirds of the original portfolio of 150 outlets were sold for £80-million last week to Laurel, the pub company owned by R20, the investment vehicle of Robert Tchenguiz, the property investor. It was widely believed these disposals comprised the best-performing bars in the all-leasehold SFI group.

However, the 26 sites that remain trading at the group, which includes brands such as Havana, Bar Med and the Litten Tree, have drawn strong interest. Hopes are rising that they will be sold, saving the jobs of staff working in them.

It is understood that interested parties include groups looking to acquire the remaining estate as a whole, as well as those looking at clusters of outlets or even individual bars. Many of the outlets for sale are in prime high street locations, where industry experts say new build sites could struggle to obtain licences.David Chubb, the administrator, said PwC had been surprised by the depth of interest before the outlets had been actively marketed by commercial property agents.

At the time it went into administration, heavily indebted SFI was effectively controlled by a syndicate of its lending banks. It is expected that about 90% to +95% of the value of bank debt, which has been heavily syndicated, was recouped via the sale to Laurel.

The Slug and Lettuce was one of the earliest concept bars to expand rapidly in prominent high street locations across Britain. But its shares were suspended in 2002 after accounting problems, including a £20-million gap between its assets and liabilities, were uncovered. The group later delisted voluntarily, and since January, it had been under strategic review by its owners.

Financial Times