Aug 18 (Reuters) - Punch Taverns Plc said owners ofabout 65 percent of its notes now supported its plan torestructure about 2.3 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) of debt, upfrom about 59 percent in June.
Punch, which began the process of restructuring its debt in2012, said shareholders controlling about 54 percent of itsequity supported the complex restructuring, little changed fromJune.
The plan needs support of at least 75 percent of votes castat noteholder and shareholder meetings on Sept. 17.
The company, which has received covenant waivers pending therestructuring, said on Monday that a failure to secure approvalfor the plan could lead to a default.
Punch still has to secure the backing of lenders includingthe Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, Lloyds Bank Plc, Citibank andMBIA UK Insurance Ltd.
Under the restructuring plan released in June, Punch's netdebt would drop by about 600 million pounds and result inshareholders retaining just 15 percent of the company.
Up to Friday's close, Punch's stock had fallen more than 23percent since the beginning of the year.
The company's shares, which were untraded by 1108 GMT onMonday, closed at 9.2 pence on Friday.
Punch, like many pub owners, was hit hard by Britain'sdouble-dip recession. The company's revenue fell almost 7percent in the year ended Aug. 17, 2013. (Reporting by Esha Vaish and Roshni Menon in Bangalore; Editingby Ted Kerr)