It turned into a bar-room brawl at Mitchells & Butlers yesterday. Just a day after the pub group accused its biggest shareholders of trying to seize control on the sly, the company booted out four non-executive directors with connections to the rebels.
Joe Lewis, the billionaire who bought a 23 per cent stake from Robbie Tchenguiz, claims to be shocked by the turn of events. But can he really be that surprised? It was M&B’s decision to bow to pressure from Mr Tchenguiz to set up a property joint venture that landed the group with a £500 million hedging loss and cost Tim Clarke, the previous head barman, his job.
It seems clear that Mr Lewis and his fellow rebels have been getting rowdier because they believe M&B’s board is unwilling to consider options for unlocking the value tied up in its £4.5 billion of assets.
Given the bloody nose suffered by the group at the hands of Mr Tchenguiz’s scheme, the new chief executive, Adam Fowle, can be forgiven for wanting to focus on running bars. If it means getting the bouncers to chuck the rebels out of the pub, then fair enough.