Pub group M&B ditches CEO, warns on profit

Pub group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday said it had replaced its CEO Alistair Darby with insider Phil Urban as it warned weak trading would push full-year profit to the bottom end of forecasts.

The group, whose pubs include Harvester, Toby Carvery, and All Bar One, said Urban would take control on September 27 with Darby’s three-year tenure ending the day before.

Chairman Bob Ivell said the group’s non-executive directors had considered the issue of leadership very carefully before appointing Urban.