Cains ownership decision this week?

The identity of the new owner of collapsed Liverpool brewer Cains Beer Company could be unveiled this week.

The former AIM-listed brewer is currently in the hands of administrators at accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The firm has spent the last few weeks sifting through a number of propositions for the business which went under two months ago with debts in excess of £30m.

Front runners in the race to snap up the group are Sudarghara and Ajmail Dusanj, the pair who bought the Liverpool-based Cains in 2002. It is believed the pair have both the cash and the determination to buy back the business.

A sticking point for some other bidders has been the terms of the lease agreement covering Cains' brewery site.

A company related to the Dusanj family owns the freehold, and any group looking to own the brewery other than one controlled by the Dusanj brothers would have to pay £1m in rent. This compares with a rent of £600,000 that would be payable if the Dusanj brothers operated the business.

Cains ran into serious financial problems following its reverse takeover deal to acquire the Honeycombe Leisure estate of pubs.

Despite being hailed as heroes in Liverpool for saving the brewery from the brink of closure six years ago and high profile sponsorships including Liverpool's 2008 City of Culture status Cains' ambitions were thwarted when its bank, HBoS, refused to back a financial rescue plan that would have helped the brewer pay off an outstanding corporation tax bill, believed to be £13m.

While a small number of Cains pubs have been closed by PwC, 91 remain trading, and the administrators have ironed out distribution problems affecting some free trade accounts.