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Tottenham Hotspur tycoon Joe Lewis and horseracing magnates John Magnier and JP McManus could soon find themselves able to call the shots at pubs group Mitchells & Butlers.
Under-pressure M&B chairman Drummond Hall is mulling inviting the trio, who have built up significant stakes in the group, to put forward representatives to sit on the board.
Hall's gambit is a desperate ploy to quell a shareholder rebellion at the debt-laden pub company, which recently ditched chief executive Tim Clarke after the latest financial fiasco.
Lewis, the Bahamas-based foreign-exchange billionaire who controls Tottenham Hotspur, is a 22% shareholder in M&B after acquiring troubled property investor Robert Tchenguiz's 21% stake.
Magnier, the Irish bloodstock tycoon, is the power behind the Ballydoyle horseracing stable of Aidan O'Brien. His countryman McManus is a former bookmaker who has become the most powerful owner in British and Irish jump racing.
Magnier and McManus acted in concert during the struggle for control of Manchester United eventually cashing in a fortune when they sold their stake to the Glazer family. The two own 17% of M&B through their Elpida vehicle.
