Mitchells & Butlers Regulatory News (MAB)

14th April 2020

Mitchells & Butlers plc

LEI no. 213800JHYNDNB1NS2W10

COVID-19 Update

Mitchells & Butlers is a strong business with a consistent record of clear sales outperformance against the market and an established strategy of strengthening the balance sheet by reducing net debt and gearing. This has put us in good shape to address the challenge we now face.

All sites have now been closed for over three weeks, and a number of actions have been taken to reduce our cost base:

· Over 99% of employees have been put on furlough, with basic pay for all employees including the Board reduced to between 60% and 80%, depending on seniority.

· Operating costs have been reduced to the minimum required to keep the estate secure, safe and in good condition.

· Discretionary capital expenditure projects have been stopped.

It is possible that the forced closure of our sites, as required by the Government, could amount to a technical breach of our secured financing arrangements but, as a first step, we are announcing today that a temporary waiver until 15th May has now been granted to avoid this pending further discussions.

Great uncertainty remains not only as to the extent of the current shutdown but also the profile of any reopening and recovery period back to normality. In light of this the group is in close contact with stakeholders, with whom it has strong relationships and who are supportive of the long-term fundamentals of the business. 

The group has material cash resources which we believe should be sufficient to fund obligations well into the second half of the year.

For further information, please contact:

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