20 December 2012
MITCHELLS & BUTLERS PLC
Annual Report 2012
In compliance with Listing Rule 9.6.1, Mitchells & Butlers plc has today submitted copies of the following documents to the National Storage Mechanism:
1. Company Annual Report and Accounts 2012
2. Notice of Annual General Meeting
3. Proposed amendments to the Articles of Association pending approval at the 2013 AGM
The Company's Annual General Meeting will be held at The International Convention Centre, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EA on Thursday 31 January 2013 at 11am.
Risks and uncertainties
The principal risks that affect the Company, together with the key mitigating activities in place to manage those risks are set out below. This does not represent a comprehensive list of all of the risks that the Company faces, butfocuses on those that are currently considered to be of most concern.
The processes that are used to identify and manage risks are described in the Internal control and risk management statement onpages 30 and 31 of the 2012 Annual report.
| Description | Mitigating activities |
| Market Risk: Pricing and market changes | |
| External influences, such as changes in the general economic climate or competitor activity, could have a detrimental effect on customers' spending patterns and therefore the Company's revenue, profitability and consequently the value of its assets | Mitchells & Butlers' business is focused on the long-term potential of the eating-out market. The Company owns sites across the UK with awide spectrum of customer offers targeted atdifferent consumer groups and leisure occasions. This range allows the Company torespond to changes in consumer expenditure either by flexing our offerings orby substituting a different brand at a particular location. This activity is supportedby dedicated Pricing and Revenue Management and Asset Planning teams which analyse and evaluate a range of information including that in respect of competitors. |
| Market Risk: Consumer taste and brand management | |
| Social and demographic changes are driving the long-term growth in eating-out while at the same time leading to a steady decline in the sales of on-trade drinks without food. These changes, together with other developments inconsumer taste may reduce the appeal of Mitchells & Butlers' brands to its customers, especially if the Company fails to anticipate and identify these changes and respond to them adequately and promptly. | |
| Operational Risk: Cost of goods price increases | |
| Increases in the price of goods for resale asaresult of increases in global demand and uncertainty of supply in producing nations canhave a significant impact on the cost baseconsequently impacting margins. | Mitchells & Butlers leverages its scale to drive competitive cost advantage and collaborates with suppliers to increase efficiencies in the supply chain. The fragmented nature of the food supply industry on the world commodity markets gives the Company the opportunity to source products from a number of alternative suppliers in order to drive down cost. The Company continually evolves the composition of menus and retail prices in order to optimise value to the customer as well as profits for theCompany. |
| Operational Risk: Property strategy and acquisitiontargets | |
| Mitchells & Butlers' strategy is to increase its number of restaurants to drive further scale advantage and provide strong incremental returns. However, it may not be possible toidentify and acquire suitable sites on acceptable terms and investments may notperform as anticipated. | The Company's dedicated Acquisitions and Asset Planning team employs a rigorous project appraisal process in respect of investments, using external advisers where necessary. Post-investment performance of acquired or converted sites investments is monitored in detail. |
| Operational Risk: People planning and development | |
| Mitchells & Butlers' business has a strong customer focus, and as such it is important thatit is able to attract, retain, develop and motivate the best people with the right capabilities throughout the organisation. | |
| Operational Risk: Energy price increases | |
| Mitchells & Butlers is a large commercial userof gas and electricity. There is a risk that costs increase because of global increases indemand and uncertainty of supply in energyproducing nations. | |
| Operational Risk: Business continuity and crisismanagement | |
| Mitchells & Butlers relies on its food and drink supply chain and the key IT systems underlying the business to serve its customers efficiently and effectively. Supply chain interruption, IT system failure or crises such as terrorist activity or the threat of disease pandemic might restrict sales or reduce operational effectiveness. | The Company has in place crisis and continuity plans that are tested and refreshed regularly. |
| Finance risk: Borrowing covenants | |
| The Company maintains headroom against these risks. The finance team conducts daily cash forecasting with periodic reviews at the Treasury Committee, the roles of which include ensuring that the Board Treasury Policy is adhered to, monitoring its operation and agreeing appropriate strategies for recommendation to the Board. In addition, regular forecasting and testing of covenant compliance is performed and frequent communication is maintained with the Securitisation Trustee. | |
| Finance risk: Pension fund deficit | |
| There is a risk that the pension fund deficit increases because of poor investment performance, lower long-term bond yields orincreased life expectancy, leading to unexpected increases in funding requirements by the Company. The triennial actuarial valuation carried out as at 31 March 2010 resulted in a deficit of £400m. | Mitchells & Butlers maintains a close dialogue with the Trustees of the pension schemes and three of the 12 Trustees are appointed by the Company. The Company has made significant additional contributions to reduce the funding deficit. The funding levels and contribution requirements will be reviewed again at the next triennial valuation as at March 2013. |
| Regulatory risk: Failure to operate safely and legally | |
| A major health and safety failure could leadtoillness, injury or loss of life or significantdamage to the Company's orabrand's reputation. | Mitchells & Butlers maintains a robust programme of health and safety checks bothwithin its restaurants and pubs andthroughout the supply chain. The dedicatedSafety Assurance team uses anumber of technical partners including foodtechnologists, microbiologists and allergyspecialists to ensure that our food procedures are safe. Regular independent audits of trading sites are performed to ensurethat procedures are followed and thatappropriate standards are maintained. Food suppliers are required to meet the BritishRetail Consortium Global Standard forFood Safety and are subject to regular safety and quality audits. Comprehensive health and safety training programmes are inplace. |
For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations
Stephen Hopson
+44 121 498 4895
Media:
James Murgatroyd (RLMFinsbury)
+44 20 7251 3801