Wolverhampton and Dudley looks set to retain its independence ­ at least in the short term. And it is fighting to maintain profitability with an ambitious restructure. This includes the closure of Mansfield brewery, the sale of Camerons brewery to Castle Eden and the sale of its Pitcher and Piano pub chain. After neither Noble House nor Pubmaster came up with a definitive offer before last week's deadline, W&D's management announced its own plans. It also revealed estimated interim figures of pre-tax profits up 30.6% to £30.7m on turnover of £284m. But City analysts were not over enthusiastic and W&D's share price fell to a new low of 445p. Paul Hickman of Peel Hunt said: "The serious problems in the first half of last year destroyed management credibility in some eyes. When they talk of returning £200m to shareholders in two years they are asking to be trusted." {{NEWS }}