Mitchells & Butlers plc (also referred to as "M&B") runs circa 1,784 managed

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. The company is listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

and is a constituent of the

FTSE 250 Index The Financial Times Stock Exchange 250 Index, also called the FTSE 250 Index, FTSE 250, or, informally, the "Footsie 250" , is a stock market index that consists of the 101st to the 350th mid-cap blue chip companies listed on the London Stock ...

. Its branded restaurants and bars include

All Bar One All Bar One is a chain consisting of 56 bars in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Mitchells and Butlers plc which was part of the Six Continents group (previously Bass Brewery, Bass) until 2003. Décor The concept was designed by Bass ...

, Miller & Carter,

Nicholson's frame, A label from a bottle of Nicholsons' Brown Ale Nicholson's was a small brewery operating from 1840 to 1960 in Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. History The brewery was founded in 1840 by William Nicholson (1820–1916), son o ...

Toby Carvery Toby Carvery is a British carvery chain brand owned and operated by Mitchells & Butlers, which consists of 158 restaurants. History The first Toby Carvery was in Brentwood, at The Artichoke Pub around 1978 or 1979. By 1982, multiple sites h ...

, Harvester,

Browns Restaurants Browns Brasserie & Bar is a British chain of restaurants owned by Mitchells & Butlers, with sites mostly located in the south of England. Browns was the first hospitality venture established by Jeremy Mogford, who in 1973 invested £10,000 (o ...

, Vintage Inns, Ember Inns, Son of Steak, Stonehouse Pizza & Grill, Crown Carveries,

O'Neill's O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. is an Irish sporting goods manufacturer established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland, with production plants located in Dublin and Strabane. O'Neills has a long r ...

, Premium Country Pubs, and Sizzling Pubs. The company also owns the ALEX brand based in Germany.

History

Historic brewing company

Mitchells & Butlers Brewery was formed by the merger of two breweries in 1898. The company merged with

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

in 1961. With the brand currently under ownership of

Coors Brewers Coors Brewers Limited, later known as Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Limited, is the UK arm of Molson Coors Beverage Company. Its headquarters is in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The company originates from Bass Brewers Limited. The compa ...

, the

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

closed in 2002 with production switched to

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

. Their most famous beer was ''Brew XI'' (using

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

, and so pronounced ''Brew Eleven''), advertised with the slogan "''for the men of the Midlands''". It is now brewed under licence for Coors by

Brains The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for special senses s ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Bass

Bass plc, based in Burton-on-Trent, transformed into separate brewing and retail divisions following the

Beer Orders The Supply of Beer (Tied Estate) Order 1989 and the Supply of Beer (Loan Ties, Licensed Premises and Wholesale Prices) Order 1989, commonly known as the Beer Orders, were statutory instruments made by the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Tr ...

of 1989 and then proceeded to build a large hotel portfolio alongside its

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...

, betting and electronic leisure interests. In the late 1990s the latter interests were sold. On 21 July 1995, Bass bought 78 Harvester restaurants for £165 million from the

Forte Group Forte Group plc was a British hotel and restaurant company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, F ...

Six Continents

In 2000, Bass also divested its brewing arm and rebranded itself

Six Continents Six Continents was a large British-based hotel and hospitality business which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was formed in June 2000 when the brewing business of Ba ...

before another split in April 2003 into two separate companies, with the hotel assets forming

InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It ...

and the Mitchells & Butlers name brought back for the pubs and restaurants company. In March 2003, Six Continents fought off a proposed £5.5 billion takeover by

Hugh Osmond Hugh Edward Mark Osmond (born 24 March 1962) is an entrepreneur and businessman and was the founder of Punch Taverns, one of the UK's largest chains of public houses. Early life Hugh Edward Mark Osmond was born on 24 March 1962, the son of a do ...

(Punch Taverns).

M and B

Mitchells & Butlers was formed on 15 April 2003. In April 2006, it was approached by a consortium led by Robert Tchenguiz in a £2.7 billion takeover, which was dropped in May 2006. In February 2008,

Punch Taverns Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a consti ...

offered to merge with Mitchells & Butlers, but decided not to in April 2008. Mitchells & Butlers then took an interest in Punch's subsidiary, Spirit Group.

Financial loss

In January 2008, Mitchells & Butlers announced significant losses (£274 million) arising out of closure of hedge positions taken in anticipation of a property joint venture that were eventually cancelled due to the

credit crunch A credit crunch (a credit squeeze, credit tightening or credit crisis) is a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans (or credit) or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from banks. A credit crunch generally ...

caused by the

subprime mortgage financial crisis The American subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010, contributing to the 2008 financial crisis. It led to a severe economic recession, with millions becoming unemployed and many business ...

Acquisitions

By 2006, Mitchells & Butlers operated 130 Harvester restaurants. In 2001, it added Arena, Ember Inns, Flares, Goose, Sizzling Pub Co, Browns, Alex (in Germany), and Inn Keeper's Lodge to its list of brands. In July 2006, Mitchells & Butlers purchased 239 pub restaurants ( Beefeater and

Brewers Fayre Brewers Fayre is a Alcohol_licensing_laws_of_the_United_Kingdom#On-licence, licensed pub restaurant chain, with 161 locations across the UK as of August 2018. Owned by Whitbread, Brewers Fayre restaurants are known for serving traditional Brit ...

without a

Premier Inn Premier Inn Limited, a subsidiary of Whitbread, is a British limited-service hotel chain with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. As of 2025, the company owned and operated over 800 h ...

) from

Whitbread Whitbread is a British multinational hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England. The business was founded as a brewery in 1742 by Samuel Whitbread in partnership with Godfrey and Thomas Shewell, with premises in L ...

for £497 million to strengthen its food business ahead of the introduction of a smoking ban in enclosed public spaces in England in 2007. It had first announced its interest in April 2006. In July 2008, Mitchells & Butlers bought 44 more former

and Beefeater outlets from Whitbread in exchange for 21

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

hotels. The acquired sites were rebranded into Mitchells and Butlers flagship brands Harvester and

. In September 2010, Mitchells & Butlers bought the 22 restaurants of the (upmarket) ''Ha Ha!'' chain from the

Bay Restaurant Group The Bay Restaurant Group is a hospitality company in the United Kingdom, specialising in restaurant and pub chains. History The company originates from three former companies: Yates's, SFI Group and the Laurel Pub Company. Laurel Pub Company ...

for £19.5 million. Twelve were turned into All Bar One and six into

. The ''Ha Ha!'' brand disappeared. In June 2014, the company announced plans to acquire the bulk of one of its major competitors, Orchid Group, for £266 million. The acquisition included 173 pubs.

Sale of pubs

In October 2006, Mitchells & Butlers sold off 102 of its smaller community pubs to

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

-based

Trust Inns Trust Inns Ltd is a pub company based in Chorley, Lancashire. Trust Inns own nearly 500 tenanted pubs in England, Wales and Scotland. Trust Inns specialises in buying pubs and then renting them to tenants, who pay rent to Trust Inns while they live ...

for £101 million. On 15 July 2010, it was announced that

Travelodge Travelodge or Travelodge by Wyndham (formerly branded ''TraveLodge'') refers to several hotel chains around the world. Current operations include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and several co ...

had acquired the leases of 52 Innkeeper's Lodge Hotels around

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Birmingham,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

and

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

areas from Mitchells & Butlers. It also sold 12

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

outlets in August 2010 for £39 million to

AMF Bowling AMF Bowling (AMF Bowling Worldwide) is a major operator of bowling centers and major manufacturer of bowling equipment. The AMF brand continues in use by the following companies: * In the United States and Mexico, for the AMF Bowling center ...

and 13 to Tenpin. In November 2010, Mitchells & Butlers sold 333 pubs to the

Stonegate Pub Company Stonegate Pub Company Ltd is the largest pub company in the UK, operating around 4,800 managed, leased and tenanted pubs. It is owned by TDR Capital. The head office is based in Solihull, England, and the company is registered in the George Town, ...

(of London and owned by

TDR Capital TDR Capital LLP is a British private equity firm headquartered in London, England. History TDR Capital was co-founded in 2002 by Manjit Dale, Stephen Robertson, and Tudor Capital.

) or £373 million.

Poor results and dismissal of CEO

In September 2015, Mitchells & Butlers issued a profits warning and dismissed CEO Alistair Darby. He was replaced by Phil Urban, who joined as COO in January from Grosvenor Casinos and previously ran Whitbread's pub restaurants division.

Operations

Mitchells & Butlers owns several brands of pubs, including: * Alex *

* Castle * Crown Carveries * Ego Mediterranean * Ember Inns * Harvester *

Innkeeper's Lodge Mitchells & Butlers plc (also referred to as "M&B") runs circa 1,784 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in Birmingham, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...

* Oak Tree * Orchid Pubs * Premium Country Pubs (formerly Premium Country Dining Group) * Miller and Carter * Nicholson's *

* Sizzling Pubs * Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery *

* Vintage Inns Nicholson's pubs tend to be historic pubs aimed at the tourist market, located in London and other historic cities. Amongst Mitchells & Butlers' portfolio is

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks Ye Olde Fighting Cocks is a pub in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is one of several pubs that lay claim to being the oldest in England, claiming to have been in business since 793 AD. Its claim to that date is somewhat uncertain: the bui ...

, a

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

public house that was previously listed by the ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' as being the United Kingdom's oldest.

References

External links

Mitchells & Butlers plc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchells and Butlers Companies based in Smethwick Restaurants established in 2003 Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom Tavistock Group 2003 establishments in England Companies in the FTSE 250 Index