Mitchells & Butlers Share Discussion Threads

[hvs] 01/12/2008 16:56

lol !!!

They would and they will get a BONUS.

[togglebrush] 01/12/2008 16:41

Sharecast News extract:-

"Mitchells & Butlers hits the skids after Morgan Stanley chopped its price target from 350p to 240p, with a worst case scenario valuation of 70p, ..."

But Directors buying @ 145p

[glenowen] 27/11/2008 21:15

After all the absolute nonsense of the last 12/18 months, MAB now seems to be re-focussed on what it does best - selling decent beer and food in comfy pubs. The management might well be to blame for considering going down the REIT road and all that other financial chicanery, but when faced with demands from large institutional shareholders to "chase the dream" and deliver more than just solid operating profits from its pubs, what were they to do?

In spite of the worsening recession, I hope MAB can overcome the problem of huge debt and continue to deliver a decent result. The Market seems to have taken a positive view of MAB's decision to abandon the dividend. Perhaps we are on our way back to the old-fashioned and sensible way of running pubs - concentrating on operating performance rather than financial engineering.

[timbo003] 27/11/2008 00:25

Well the maket seemed to like the results.

Also see report in today's London Evening Standard

[timbo003] 26/11/2008 14:42

Interest payments appear to be well covered and they remain very cash flow positive and the company is taking a very prudent approach with respect to debt obligations. I have no inclination to sell, I might even add a few, this company is a sitting duck from a takeover perspective.

[dope007] 26/11/2008 14:16

Is it me or are they struggling to cover interest payments?

[timbo003] 26/11/2008 07:44

Very reassuring results, but no divi until 2010/2011 by the sounds of it

[hvs] 25/11/2008 08:37

Hic !!!!

bean counters now called "Financial Directors" so that could take the company to the wall.

What was that interest rate hedge ? How much did it cost ?

Did the bean counter do it all on his own ?

Hic !

[timbo003] 25/11/2008 08:13

I found this on investegate. Good! just stay as a managed pub company, pay off some of the debt and try and keep the divis flowing, when things start looking up and credit markets pick up, M&B will be a sitting duck for a takeover.

[careful] 22/11/2008 13:45

next week we get some real information.
finals.
they will be ok.
cost are falling, intertest rates will be way down.
this should be re rated, but then so should many companies in the index.

[westcoastrich] 16/11/2008 09:10

finance director notices a sharp deterioration in customers

[philjeans] 04/11/2008 13:09

and now we're 17.5p up!

[philjeans] 04/11/2008 09:40

Super shake just now and from 4.5p up, it's 2p down - so bought some more!

Beauty.

[philjeans] 04/11/2008 08:23

Rising strongly again - oversold and written off but this is a very large and successful restaurant business, just waiting to be snapped up by another foreign buyer.

[philjeans] 03/11/2008 14:38

Got in midday at the dip - looking good for a takeover down here at bargain basin price.

Good yield, ISA ble and with huge strategic stakes now held by Joe Lewis and the two Irish racers.

Looks an odds on cert.

[westcoastrich] 29/10/2008 13:15

JUST BOUGHT SOME FOR THE RATE CUT

[milton8] 17/10/2008 15:34

any news? MAB big drop at today?
maybe think buy? any comm, please...

[hvs] 17/10/2008 15:14

Hic !!

Hic !!!!

Anyone for a pint ?

What a classic CITY pump story this has turned out to be.

[timbo003] 15/10/2008 20:23

The recent news that Robbie Tchenguiz is now out, is good news for shareholders IMO, I was always uneasy with him on the share register with such a big holding and a couple of his staff on the board. Was he just going to asset strip? I don't know, but I was not entirely convinced that he was going to act in the interest of ALL shareholders, according I bought my maiden stakes (circa 9000 shares) on Thursday/Friday after the news of his departure.

[fur] 08/10/2008 11:54

Yippeeeeeee, and the price of a pint will now fall back as the ridiculous levels of rent being charged in pubs will ultimately fall, and rather than the foolish values placed on the properties the pubs will not be seen as integral assets of the whole of the trading entity, not just a property profolio. The freehold price of pubs has actuially fallen 50% from their peaks now and wil continue falling as the usual alternative use value (ie turn it into a house) no longer has a market, ergo rents fall for tenants, occupational costs wil fall, better landlords will run better pubs for a more realistic personal return and we will get comfortable clean open pubs to have cheap beer in. And sky will be forced to reduce the charge to pubs as well.

[togglebrush] 08/10/2008 11:24

From FT

British billionaire takes Tchenguiz's stake in M&B
By Pan Kwan Yuk and Neil Hume
Published: October 8 2008 02:20 | Last updated: October 8 2008 11:14
Joe Lewis, the British born billionaire, has emerged as the buyer for Robert Tchenguiz's 25 per cent stake in Mitchells & Butlers, the UK pub operator.
Mr Lewis, who lost about £500m from the collapse of Bear Stearns, acquired some 105m shares in the All Bar One operator Tuesday at a fire-sale price of 130p apiece.
That compares with a market price of 163p, which had already fallen 12 per cent during the day.
The disposal by Mr Tchenguiz, M&B's largest shareholder, is the latest illustration of how the financial crisis in Iceland is having far-reaching repercussions for UK companies.
Although the stake is understood to belong to Mr Tchenguiz, the actual seller was Iceland's Kaupthing, which was holding the shares as collateral.
The Icelandic bank is one of Mr Tchenguiz's financial backers and bankrolled the property enterpreneur's move in July to convert his the bulk of derivatives holding in M&B into shares in order to stop it being lent to those betting on price falls.
But with banks in Iceland being forced to deleverage, Kaupthing has called back the loan it gave to Mr Tchenguiz as part of its efforts to shore up its balance sheet.
Unable to raise the fund to repay the loan, the Iranian-born financier was forced on Tuesday to liquidate his position in M&B.
The disposal marks a remarkable turnaround to Mr Tchenguiz's relationship with M&B. Having stalked the company for several years, he finally twisted management into meeting his desire to squeeze more from its real estate last year.
That led to the ill-fated hedging operation that put the company in play earlier this year.
In May, he tightened his grip on the company after he successfully appointed two non-executive directors from his R20 vehicle and quietly applauded the group's plan to separate its property into a real estate investment trust.
Tim Smalley and Aaron Brown, employees of Mr Tchenguiz's investment vehicle R20, are likely to resign from the pub group's board as a result of the disposal.
It is not clear how much money Mr Tchenguiz have lost on the stake sale. He could not be reached for comment on Tuesday night.
The sale of the M&B stake is expected to spark speculation over Mr Tchenguiz's plans for his 10 per cent stake in supermarket group J Sainsbury. Shares in the J Sainsbury fell 12 per cent on Wednesday on fear that the stake will be put on the market.
Shares in M&B are down 74 per cent over the past 12 months. They have fallen 25 per cent in the past week.
Following Tuesday night's transaction, Mr Tchenguiz still retains an economic interest of 4.8 per cent in M&B through contracts for differences.
CFDs are derivatives that allow investors to take a position on the stock without owning it outright.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

[miata] 31/7/2008 20:10

Featured in "Rogue Restaurants" on BBC1 now.