Food sales at Mitchells and Butlers jump 7%
Pubs and restaurants operator Mitchells & Butlers has seen food sales across its 2,000 pubs and restaurants rise 7.1% at the end of the summer, with drinks sales up 2.2%.
M&B, whose brands include All Bar One and Harvester, saw overall sales rise 4.4% in the nine weeks to 18 September.
The company, which last week announced that it would buy 22 Ha-Ha Bar and Grill sites from Bay Restaurant Group for £19.5m, also indicated that it would spend around £200m on acquisitions of single sites and small packages of sites next year, as well as maintenance and conversions of existing pubs.
Chief executive Adam Fowle said the group planned to spend £90m on expansion, with £110m being spent on maintenance and conversions. He said that around £50m would be spent on purchasing single sites, small groups of pubs and new build sites.
"This is a very encouraging performance, particularly given the present consumer economy, and underlines the strength of the Mitchells & Butlers business," he said.
Meanwhile, operating margins are expected to have risen to 16.5% for the year to 25 September.
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By Neil Gerrard
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