British pub owner M&B returns to profitability

BRITAIN’s largest pub owner, Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) — which counts Irish businessmen John Magnier and JP McManus as shareholders — has reported a 5% increase in annual revenue and a return to profitability.

The Birmingham-headquartered group — which owns a number of pub chains in Britain, including All Bar One and the Irish-themed O’Neill’s — generated a pre-tax profit of £132 million (€153m) during the 12 months to the end of September; a turnaround from a loss of £127m for the previous year.

Annual revenue climbed from £1.68 billion to £1.76bn; while EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was up by 1.8% to £398m and operating profit rose by 1.1% to £288m.