Pubs are usually convivial places, but owning them is an entirely more challenging experience.

After a protracted battle by two US hedge funds for the Redcape Hotel Group, another skirmish has broken out in the sector: this time over the Lantern Hotel Group . The listed pub company, which owns the popular Crown Hotel in Sydney’s Surry Hills, is majority-owned by one of New Zealand’s biggest private equity firms, Torchlight , and has a roster of well-known names on its register, including Allan Gray and Colonial First State Global Asset Management.