Yet another boss at Mitchells & Butlers
The boardroom merry-go-round at pubs and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers took another spin today as the company appointed its sixth chairman in little more than three years.
The owner of the Harvester, Toby Carvery and Vintage Inns chains has been riven with top-level strife in recent years as billionaire investor Joe Lewis - who bought his 23% stake from Robert Tchenguiz - forced through a coup at the firm's annual general meeting last year. Chief executive Adam Fowle quit in March.
Today's appointment as interim chairman of Bob Ivell, a senior independent director at Britvic and chairman of David Lloyd Leisure, follows the departure of Simon Burke - a nominee of Lewis's Piedmont investment vehicle. Burke is leaving after only six months in the role for which no explanation has been offered.
Lewis has also tightened his grip on M&B through the appointment of Ron Robson as deputy chairman, who joined the board in January last year as a Piedmont shareholder representative.
M&B has been in turmoil since the ill-fated attempt to split its property arm in 2007 was scuppered by the credit crunch and ended up costing the company £500 million. Irish racing magnates JP McManus and John Magnier also have an 18% stake through their Elpida vehicle.
Peel Hunt analyst Paul Hickman warned: "The latest board moves are not going to help reduce the 10% discount on which M&B trades against the sector, and in all likelihood the situation will be exacerbated."
