All Bar One Owner Mitchells & Butlers Reports Profits Increase

Pub Grub Helps Mitchells & Butlers Prosper
Mitchells and Butlers' shift to food has helped it report a positive 2012
Mitchells and Butlers' shift to food has helped it report a positive 2012
Alamy

The owner of the All Bar One, Harvester and O’Neill’s chains has reported that end of year pre-tax profits are up to £162m from £156m last year.

However, Mitchells & Butlers, which also owns Toby Carvery and Browns, warned inflationary and regulatory cost pressures would hurt the business in the new financial year.

Much of this year's success has been down to the chain's refocusing on providing food.

After a 40% increase in food over the past five years, around three-quarters of its turnover is now generated from the guests who eat out in its restaurants and pubs, helping the overall revenue to rise by 3.3%.

Innovations in technology, including rolling out free Wi-Fi across all of its managed businesses in the UK and increasing online bookings to 1.5 million from 700,000 last year, was also cited as a big win.

Almost 50 new outlets were opened in 2012, creating 1,500 new jobs.

Bob Ivell, non-executive chairman for the group, said restructuring of the business had helped to reduce costs as well as increase accountability of senior executives.

But the annual report also warned ongoing alcohol duty increases, further food price inflation and other cost increases, coupled with continued tightness in consumer incomes, would make 2013 difficult.

In less positive news, the chain also received a £235,000 fine in November after it was found guilty of three health and safety offences, which led to the death of one of its cleaners in Bristol.

Insider Media reported Richard Pratley, 65, who was employed as a cleaner at the Snuff Mill Harvester, died after falling 1.8 metres while cleaning at a high level in an accident in January 2009.

The ladder Pratley used was found to be faulty and neither Pratley nor the manager had received any training in working at heights or the use of ladders.

There was also no evidence the company had any system in place for checking the policy on work at heights was put into practice and the risk assessment was inadequate for the range of work at heights at this site.

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