National firms Eversheds and Halliwells have advised on Mitchells & Butlers' £101m sale of a portfolio of its pubs to Trust Inns.

Eversheds advised Mitchells & Butlers on the sale of 102 of its smaller pubs, in a deal that closed last week (11 October) after around three weeks.

Eversheds Birmingham corporate partners Sue Lewis and Keri Rees led the team on the deal, assisted by associate Liz Kitchin and property partner Iftkhar Ahmed.

The national giant is a longstanding adviser to Mitchells & Butlers and advised the company on its acquisition of 239 pub and restaurant sites from Whitbread in July.

The pub and restaurant operator's portfolio of more than 2,000 outlets is worth more than £5bn. Its brands include O'Neill's and All Bar One.

Lewis said Eversheds offices in Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham were involved in the deal.

Manchester firm Halliwells represented Lancashire-based Trust Inns, which is adding to its 500-strong pub portfolio.

As part of the deal, Mitchells & Butlers has agreed to provide certain services to Trust Inns to support the pubs for a nine-month period.