Our history
Mitchells & Butlers is one of the great names in licensed retailing in the UK and has been at the forefront of the creation of the great British pub as we know it today. In the first half of the twentieth century, the Company was one of the pioneers in the development of a new generation of large pubs with improved levels of amenity, service standards and a wider social appeal, which generated much higher sales than their predecessors – the small nineteenth-century back-street pubs then dominant in the industry. Often of striking new designs, many remain landmarks to this day.
Key moments in the Company’s formation and development include:
- 1898:
- Mitchells & Butlers is founded from the merger of two Midlands family businesses, both owning breweries and pub estates
- 1961:
- Merger with Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton Ltd to form Bass, Mitchells & Butlers Ltd
- 1967:
- Subsequent merger with Charrington United creates Bass Charrington, later shortened to Bass PLC
- 1989:
- Following the MMC Report on the Supply of Beer and the DTI Beer Orders, Bass PLC forms separate brewing and retailing divisions; Bass Brewers and Bass Taverns respectively
- 1994:
- The first O'Neill's Irish bar opens in Aberdeen and the first All Bar One opens in Sutton, Surrey in 1994, appealing to a new type of pub-goer and groups of women
- 1995:
- Bass Taverns acquires the Harvester chain from Forte.
- 1998:
- Bass PLC disposes of its leased pub estate, bingo businesses, betting shops and its electronic leisure entertainment and gaming machine manufacturing interests. Bass Taverns acquires the then seven-strong group of Browns Restaurants
- 1999:
- Bass Leisure Retail makes its first acquisition in the continental market by purchasing Alex, an established brand of bars and brasseries. Later this year the Company acquires 550 ex-Allied Domecq pubs from Punch.
- 2000:
- Bass PLC sells its brewing business to Interbrew SA and renames itself as Six Continents PLC.
- 2001:
- The Company announces the sale of 988 pubs to Nomura for a total of £625 million.
- 2003:
- Six Continents Plc separates its Hotels and Pubs divisions. The now-independent divisions list on the Stock Exchange and the Mitchells & Butlers name once again represents a leading operator of managed pubs, bars and restaurants.
- 2006:
- Mitchells & Butlers completes the acquisition of 239 pub restaurants from Whitbread Plc
Today Mitchells & Butlers operates many of the UK’s leading licensed retail brands including Vintage Inns, Toby Carvery, Ember Inns, O'Neill's, All Bar One and Sizzling Pub Co., as well as some of the most famous pubs in Britain. It continues to evolve and develop its estate of pub and pub restaurants to meet the ever more discerning tastes of the British public, ensuring it remains at the forefront of the UK pub industry.
