Profits rise at Mitchells & Butlers as it warns of £130m cost increases

All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers has seen profits jump for another year despite ongoing cost pressures hitting the hospitality industry.

The group, which operates more than 1,700 sites across brands including Harvester and Browns, said pre-tax profits rose 19.5% to £238m in the year to 27 September 2025.

Revenue jumped 3.8% to £2.71b while like-for-like sales increased 4.3% during the same period.

Mitchells & Butlers said it had faced cost headwinds of £100m during the year, including rising wage and National Insurance costs.

However, it still invested £181m in its estate in 2025 and remodelled 199 sites.

Staff turnover reached a record low of 55%, down from 64% in 2024, which the company said was boosted by more training and progression opportunities.

The group said it expects costs to rise a further 6% to £130m in 2026 driven by “annualisation of labour cost increases, plus further increases in the statutory thresholds, and increased levels of food cost inflation”. This estimate included the company’s assessment of the impact of the Budget measures announced on Wednesday.

However, it said it had made a strong start to its 2026 financial year, with like-for-like sales up 3.8% in the first eight weeks.

Mitchells & Butlers chief executive Phil Urban said: “We are pleased to report another year of strong performance. Like-for-like sales continued to outperform the market across all segments, reinforcing the strength of our strategy and market positioning. Combined with disciplined operational execution, this delivered robust profit growth mitigating sector-wide cost headwinds.

“As we look to the year ahead, we anticipate increased cost pressures across the sector. However, we remain confident in our ability to manage these challenges through our established Ignite improvement programme and disciplined capital investment strategy. Our market-leading estate and diversified guest propositions provide a strong foundation for resilience and growth, enabling us to capture incremental market share and deliver continued long-term outperformance.”

Mitchells & Butlers was founded in 1898.