Punch Taverns £2.7 billion restructuring inevitable, say distressed debt experts

A restructuring of debt impaired and loss-making Punch Taverns looks increasingly inevitable, with some distressed debt experts ominously referring to the company as “the new Eurotunnel”.

The fundamental changes that have taken place in the pub sector in recent years mean that Punch, once the poster-boy of the European securitization sector, is now saddled with a funding structure woefully ill-suited to its needs. The majority of the debt the firm is labouring under is in two leased pub securitizations: Punch Taverns Finance and Punch Taverns Finance B.