All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers falls to £121m loss during lockdown
All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers said it sank to a £121m pre-tax loss in its half-year ending in April due to lockdown, it said today.
The owner of more than 1,700 pubs, bars and restaurants around the UK, Mitchells & Butlers was forced to close all its outlets when lockdown began on 23 March.
The almost four weeks of lockdown included in its half-year results hit Mitchells & Butlers badly. Its operating profit also fell to a £51m loss, compared to a £140m profit in 2019.
And revenue was lower too, with the company counting £1.039bn compared to £1.186bn the previous year.
But Mitchells & Butler said like-for-like sales had improved prior to lockdown, growing 0.9 per cent year on year. And the group said its experience in Germany means it is confident of reopening this weekend when pubs and restaurants can finally open their doors.
“The business was performing very well before the enforced closure in response to Covid-19,” chief executive Phil Urban said.
“[Our] assets, coupled with our early experience of re-opening in Germany, give us a clear plan for re-opening and ensure that we are well placed to continue to bring people and communities together and to keep Mitchells & Butlers at the forefront of the eating and drinking-out market.”
Pubs and restaurants opened in some German states in May, with Mitchells & Browns’ German brands including the bar chain Alex.
Mitchells & Butlers has also extended borrowing by £100m to £250m with a repayment deadline of the end of 2021.
Meanwhile, cash flow has more than doubled compared to the same time last year, rising from £23m to £58m.
And the Harvester chain owner still plans to invest £82m in its brands, opening two new sites and improving 166 sites.