THE deadline for bids for the UK's largest regional brewer, Wolverhampton and Dudley, passed yesterday.

The company, which owns the Camerons Lion Brewery, in Hartlepool, employing 170 staff, put itself up for sale last year after a profits warning and poor shares performance.

Among those believed to have submitted bids are Hartlepool pubs group Pubmaster, Robert Breare's Noble House Leisure Group, Japanese investment bank Nomura and private equity group Botts.

A management buyout is believed to have failed to find a backer.

All the bids are believed to value the group at about £472m, or 500p per share.

W&DB's future has been the subject of speculation since last August, when Botts said it was considering making an offer for the group.

Speculation increased in October, when Wolves said it had begun a review of operations that could lead to its sale.

W&DB extended its deadline for takeover offers by two weeks, to noon yesterday, following "increased interest".

It is expected that the brewer's board will meet next week.

A spokesman for Botts said: "We have submitted an indicative bid at about the 500p-a-share mark."

Ron Turnbull, Pubmaster's finance director, said the group was confident its offer would be well received.

However, it has been speculated that Pubmaster could sell the Lion Brewery to the Castle Eden Brewery, near Peterlee, as it is not interested in the brewing interests.

Castle Eden has been in negotiations to sell its site since December, with a planned move to the Lion Brewery.