M&B UK pubs auction
UK Auction Info
Around 10 initial offers have been received by Mitchells & Butlers for an estate of 100 pubs it put up for sale last month.
M&B, headed its by chief executive Tim Clarke, is believed to be sitting on bids from big pub groups that include Punch Taverns, Enterprise Inns and Greene King, as well as from property investors and private-equity groups such as GI Partners.
It is understood that Robert Tchenguiz, the property tycoon who tried to buy M&B earlier this year and has a minority stake in the group, did not submit an offer.
The level of interest has been such that the group is confident that the eventual sale price could exceed analysts’ estimates of £125m.
The company is expected to take a number of the potential buyers through to a second round of bidding. A deal could be concluded before the end of next month.
M&B, which owns the Harvester, All Bar One and Ember Inns brands, revealed on July 21 that it intended to sell the pubs.
The announcement coincided with the £497m purchase of 239 pub-restaurants from its rival Whitbread. Citigroup, the investment bank, was hired to handle the disposal.
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