M&B hires Sapient to sell 300 pubs

Managed operator Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has hired boutique finance firm Sapient Corporate Finance to sell 300 or so wet-led pubs, according to reports.

The company wants to raise around £500m to double the size of its six key brands, including Harvester, Toby Carvery and Sizzling Pub Company.

Chairman of M&B John Lovering has previously indicated that the company no longer wants to compete in the wet-led, price-sensitive parts of the pub sector.

Among the brands thought to be in the departure lounge are student brand Scream, Goose, and unbranded town pubs.

Sapient Corporate Finance was hired by Punch Taverns last year to sell a tranche of its top-end pubs to regional brewers.

It sold 43 managed pubs and 55 tenanted sites to raise £139m for Punch.

The M&B pubs are predominantly freehold and are expected to attract a wide range of buyers, including JD Wetherspoon which has made it clear it may be in the market for a block of 80 or so freehold pubs as it expands by 250 pubs in the next five years.

It is likely that the M&B pub will also attract a host of smaller multi-site operators.

Lovering has stated that he would like to double the size of M&B's six key brands within five years.

The company is looking to open new venues on retail parks — and wants to trial Harvester and Toby Carvery in high street locations by the end of the calendar year.