Mitchells & Butlers, the owner of some of Britain’s best-known pubs today said sales had actually fallen during April as the rain poured down.
Chairman Bob Ivell, who is heading the business while it recruits a new chief executive, said: “People forget that this time last year we were all sitting outside in beer gardens enjoying the sunshine. This year everybody’s been huddled indoors or going to the cinema.”
But he added that M&B had still outperformed its competitors with a 2.7% rise in pubs that it has owned for at least a year.
This was split between 4.4% growth in the first 17 weeks and just 0.2% in the remaining 11 weeks.
Ivell said: “Given the pressure which the consumer is under and the weather, we reckon that’s pretty good and slightly ahead of what the market expected.” M&B’s first half pre-tax profit fell £1 million to
£42 million although its preferred measure, operating profit, rose 1.5% to £138 million.
Ivell said: “Margins remained under pressure with energy and utility bills rising and food ingredients particularly red meat much higher. We are the biggest buyer of ribs of beef in the country through the Toby Carvery chain.”
M&B ousted its previous chief executive, Adam Fowle, in March 2011. In the official statement, Ivell repeated his phrase used four months ago that he is “pleased with the progress being made to appoint a new chief executive.”
In fact he now has a shortlist of two candidates and said: “I am very pleased with that, and would point out that some individuals might find it more difficult to leave their current posts to join us than perhaps we might hope.”
