UPDATE 1-UK pub operators report losses, job cuts as lockdown pain builds

(Adds Fuller, Smith & Turner results, details and background)

Nov 26 (Reuters) - British pub operators Mitchells & Butlers
and Fuller, Smith & Turner posted financial
losses on Thursday and said they had cut around 2,000 jobs as
the hospitality sector reels from the past month's re-tightening
of COVID-19 restrictions.

The larger of the two, M&B, which owns All Bar One,
Harvester and Browns, said it had cut 1,300 roles. Fuller's said
its total number of employees had been reduced by 20%,
translating to around 990 job losses.

M&B reported an adjusted pretax loss of 32 million pounds
($43 million) for the year ended Sept. 26 and Fuller's a
first-half loss of 22.2 million pounds.

Pubs, restaurants and hotels have been among the hardest hit
by the COVID-19 pandemic, with social distancing measures and
curfews hitting capacity even when establishments have not been
forced to shut altogether by lockdowns.

The current lockdown in England started on Nov. 5 and is set
to end on Dec. 2, but tough restrictions are expected to
continue in many areas, and pubs and restaurants in the toughest
third tier will only be allowed to reopen for takeaways.

With 1.56 billion pounds in net debt as of Sept. 26,
Mitchells & Butlers in June had agreed to revised financing
arrangements with its main creditors to bolster its available
reserves after avoiding a debt default in April.

M&B employs about 44,000 people in about 1,700 pubs across
the UK, while Fuller's employed 4,957 according to its latest
annual report.
($1 = 0.7472 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in
Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Patrick Graham)