M&B rides high on food and festive trade

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) today downplayed the impact of regulatory pressures, predicting that its economies of scale and ongoing disposal plans would generate strong growth throughout 2005.

M&B announced a good start to its new financial year. Figures announced at the company's AGM revealed that total retail sales for the first fifteen weeks to January 15, 2005, were up 5 per cent, led by food sales, up 10 per cent, while drinks sales grew by a more modest 2 per cent.

Residential sales, accounting for 70 per cent of the business, rose 6.6 per cent, while profits in the high street outlets grew by around 2.9 per cent - in line with figures from other rivals in that sector.

The company, which operates both unbranded and branded pubs including All-Bar-One and O'Neill's and Toby Carvery, is also £19m into the £100m share buy-back, it announced in December.

M&B's chief executive Tim Clarke confirmed to The Publican​ that growth in food sales is continuing to be the major profits growth area for the 2000-strong managed pub estate.

"There has been something of a plateau reached with drink sales while food clearly continues as the biggest area of growth," he said. "Our average across the company has risen to a £5,000 weekly take per pub on food."

M&B has emerged as something of a force to be reckoned with among pubcos. Its generally high-turnover outlets take a net average of 15,000 to 16,000 a week. And so, despite operating just 3 per cent of the country's pubs, M&B punches well above its weight, taking between 9 and10 per cent of the total pub market share sales-wise.