The Office of Fair Trade (OFT) has ordered Enterprise Inns to sell 61 pubs in order to satisfy competition concerns following the Laurel deal.
The deal, announced in April, saw Enterprise buy 1,860 houses for £875m from Laurel, to become the biggest pub company in Britain.
The acquisition pushed the Enterprise estate to 5,340.
The company said the OFT's referrel was as expected. "For a company that sells betwen 150 and 200 pubs each year this represents every day practise," said chief executive Ted Tuppen.
Enterprise announced the decision to the London Stock Exchange today (Thursday, June 20).
The company also has a call option on a further 4,300 pubs in 2004. If, as expected, the company proceeds with the outright purchase, its estate will swell to more than 9,500 pubs.
Enterprise is already understood to be making plans to sell pubs where there may be monopoly concerns. "It is our job to ensure we are not ant-competitive," Mr Tuppen added.
The OFT stipulates that a pub company cannot own or run more than 25 per cent of pubs in any one region or defined area.
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