Enterprise Inns is to sell seven of its top pubs at a public auction in a sale-and-leaseback deal worth around £14.7m (US$24m, 16.2m euro).

Property consultants Allsop will handle the sale on 15 October 15 in an auction at the Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London. Enterprise will then take out a 35 year-lease on the properties. The company has confirmed there will be no change to the existing agreements with the licensees concerned and said that the proceeds of the sale will be used to pay down the group debt. Enterprise has a bank facility of £1bn (US$1.6bn, 1.1bn euro) due to mature in 2011 and has already sold over 270 pubs so far this year. It was also revealed that there may be further transactions in the future.

The pubs being auctioned include six in London and one in Windsor, Berkshire.