Mitchells & Butlers tempted by Whitbread's Brewers Fayre and Beefeater

Pub company Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) today had its sights set on the 250 Brewers Fayre and Beefeater pub restaurants put up for sale by Whitbread.

M&B, which owns the Harvester and Toby Carvery brands in a restaurant division trading from 650 sites in the UK, said the move was being considered alongside a possible cash return to shareholders.

The plans emerged as M&B announced details of a refinancing which it expects will leave it with £500m more debt.

M&B said the refinancing had been on its agenda since November but its use of the money had been complicated by the news three days ago that Whitbread wanted to offload a sizeable chunk of its Brewers Fayre and Beefeater pub restaurants.

The company said: "The board believes that Mitchells & Butlers' brands and operating skills could add considerable value to this portfolio and intends to explore this in parallel with the refinancing."

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By David Winning, PA deputy city editor

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