As per the media reports, the stressed pubs’ firm Punch Taverns invited last orders on 300 of its under-performing premises recently.

The firm is heavily laden with a debt pile of £4.4 billion and it said that it had made efforts to offload some of the pubs earlier; however, now it has slashed prices to try and ignite interests in the sites.

There is a possibility that a majority of the pubs put for sale might remain as licensed premises. But a notable number might also be converted into housing or shops.

The pubs are mostly being sold by business agents Christie & Co, with vacant possession, and are scattered across the UK.

As per Punch Taverns, which has around 8,000 pubs in total, the premises to be sold were from its "turnaround" division of struggling businesses.

The firm continued, “Some of these sites have already been on the market but they are being re launched through Christie, many at revised prices, to stimulate interest and secure buyers

While 90% of the sites are freehold, prices would vary from nil-premium leases to £500,000.

“We expect the majority of these pubs to continue to be operated as licensed premises, although a significant number will provide ideal alternative-use opportunities across the residential, commercial and retail sectors,” said Neil Morgan, head of pubs at Christie.

The past few years have not been good for Punch as it has had to deal with an array of issues, including the smoking ban, rising beer duty, cut-price competition from supermarkets and a plunge in consumer spending - all taking their toll.

The firm had specified last month that more than a third of the 1,250 pubs in its turnaround division were offloaded by it; however, it had identified a further 450 sites to be transferred into it.