Slug & Lettuce parent group Laurel Pub Company went into administration last night after billionaire owner Robert Tchenguiz failed to find buyers for 90 loss-making sites.

The group, which also owns high street chains La Tasca and Yates's, put 378 sites into the hands of insolvency specialist Kroll.

But two new companies backed by Mr Tchenguiz, the property entrepreneur, have bought back 293 profitable sites after the group's collapse.

The future of the company's outlets in Birmingham were not known last night.

Bay Restaurant Group will now run 84 Slug & Lettuce premises, 24 Ha Ha bar and grills and more than two dozen other pipeline sites. These have been merged with the 85 La Tasca restaurants.

The Town & City Pub Company has taken on 161 pubs and bars, mainly comprising the Yates venues.

Around 90 other pub and bar venues, most of which have ceased trading, remain in the hands of the administrators.

About 1,800 staff are affected by the closures, but Laurel is hoping to relocate as many employees as it can to other sites.

A trust operated by Mr Tchenguiz is understood to have pumped between £50 million and £60 million into the two new companies to help secure their future.

Laurel is thought to have been hit hard by the introduction of the smoking ban in the UK.