Investors demand two M&B board seats
A consortium of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) investors are demanding two seats on the board, according to reports.
The rebel investors are led by London-based Leo hedge fund is attempting to obtain the seats in order to have a greater say in the company's strategy and have already met M&B chairman Drummond Hall, according to The Times.
The Leo-led consortium account for around 10% of shares and are believed to be prepared to call for an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to state their case.
The consortium is said to include Unigra International, the investment vehicle of Italy's Martini family, and entrepreneur Trevor Hemmings.
Meanwhile, M&B's largest investor Joe Lewis has increased his stake in the company to just over 22% through his investment vehicle Piedmont.
The British billionaire Joe Lewis, who also has investments in Ladbrokes and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, acquired his stake from Robert Tchenguiz at the price of 130p a share last year.
The move prompted speculation that Lewis may bid for the company or pass his shares to a third party to do so.
Irish horse racing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier has also increased their stake by 1% to 17%.
