Terra Firma, headed by financier Guy Hands, has appointed Citigroup to sell its managed pub operator division, Wizard Inns.

Wizard’s 64-strong portfolio is expected to fetch around £100m and will bring to an end Hands’ high profile transactions in the pub sector.

At its peak, Hands’ pub empire comprised of more than 5,500 tenanted and leased outlets.

In March 2001, Hands sold the Unique Pub Company, which he helped found, for £2.01bn.

A look at Wizard’s books, that started operating in 1997, shows that the company generated an annual pre-tax profit of £14m.

The company is in the middle of a £3m refurbishment programme and had just completed a £350,000 revamp of its Corn Exchange pub, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Details: www.wizardinns.co.uk