Admiral Taverns, the 2,000-strong pub company bailed out by its bank late last year, is understood to be looking to sell up to 200 of its pubs.
Licensees were told of the planned disposal of their businesses by letter today.
Sources would not confirm the exact number of sites, but The Publican understands it is between 150 and 200 pubs.
Lynn Lyes, an Admiral tenant who runs the Queen's Head in the Suffolk village of Mildenhall, said she received a letter signed by Peter Brook, former boss of Tattershall Castle Group and now head of Admiral's 'Phoenix' division of underperforming pubs, informing her that hers was one of those for sale.
The letter, addressed merely to the 'licensee', said she would be required to make the premises accessible to a representative of Christie + Co, "in order to produce sales particulars".
She was told in the letter she could make the company an offer to buy the pub herself, "and your BDM should be able to provide you with an indication of the price we are seeking and answer any further questions you may have".
Lyles, whose nine-year tenancy ends in July 2011, said she had had no contact with her BDM with regard to making such an offer, and besides, she and her husband couldn't afford to buy the pub, an ex-Greene King outlet sold by the Bury St Edmunds brewer to Admiral a couple of years ago.
"That's why we are tenants," she said. "This has come completely out of the blue. There have been no details other than that Admiral Taverns has instructed an estate agent. We live and work here. It's our home."
The pub sell-off follows a review undertaken by Admiral after last November's debt-for-equity swap with Lloyds Banking Group, which now effectively controls the business.
The swap move was a consequence of Admiral's breaching its banking covenants at the end of 2008 and which saw the installation of ex-Punch Taverns executive Jonathan Paveley as its executive chairman.