Will the new offer be enough?

Thorium, a bid vehicle set up by GI Partners, is now offering �98.4m ($181m), or 147p a share, for Yates.

This is �5.4m higher than its previous offer of 140p a share, and Thorium has now said it has secured the support of a key shareholder group.

The shareholders in question - members of Yates' founding family - had said the previous offer was too low.

They control 20.4% of Yates' shares.

Turnaround

The pub chain's independent directors backed Thorium's buyout plan a month ago, with chairman Mike Hennessy describing it as an "attractive price".

It now remains to be seen whether Thorium can persuade other key investors to back the takeover.

Bolton-based Yates, which employs 4,000 people and has 129 Yates and 23 Ha!Ha! outlets, has been trying to reverse a sales slump amid tough trading conditions.

It has seen annual profits slide from �15.6m in 2000 to �10m in 2003.

But last month, its full-year results seemed to indicate a slight change in fortunes with profits inching up to �10.6m.