spreadbetters bonanza on mab on 10 pound a point as of 29 april hop on baby

Strong sp of 280p today reflects speculation following press comment that Punch Taverns is attracting possible bid interest from CVC Capital Partners.It is felt that the weak pub sector may attract interest from cash rich funds. Certainly looks like the Elpida build up is proving timely.

sp +13p@293p.

in a strong market + 20p @ 338p

250p...analysts say sell MAB

19 September 2008




Mitchells & Butlers plc




Completion of acquisition of Whitbread pub restaurant sites

in exchange for lodges




Mitchells & Butlers is pleased to confirm that the acquisition of 44 pub restaurants sites from Whitbread plc in exchange for 21 Express by Holiday Inn lodges, announced on 31 July 2008, has been successfully completed.







For further information please contact:




Investor Relations



Erik Castenskiold
0121 498 6513






Media



James Murgatroyd (Finsbury Group)
0207 251 3801







Notes for editors:




- Mitchells & Butlers owns and operates around 2,000 high quality pubs in prime locations nationwide. The Group's predominantly freehold, managed estate is biased towards large pubs in residential locations. With around 3% of the pubs in the UK, Mitchells & Butlers has 10% of industry sales and average weekly sales per pub over three times greater than that of the average UK pub.




- Mitchells & Butlers' leading portfolio of brands and formats includes Ember Inns, Harvester, Sizzling Pub Co., Toby Carvery, Vintage Inns, All Bar One, O'Neill's, Nicholson's and Browns. In addition, Mitchells & Butlers operates a large number of individual city centre and residential pubs.


strong move up today with market sp 286p

MAB is below 200p. Went to Harvesters the other day. Almost empty. Business is poor

MAB is a clearly to be avoided at all costs as two leading banks in Iceland, Kaupthing Edge and Ice-save, which have a significant share in MAB, are liquidating their positions due to a meltdown in Iceland's burgeoning banking sector. They are also feared to be nationalised.

188p...feels like it's only worth 100p as Icelandic investments are bailing out of MAB.

Justyi, I just saw that Iceland currency is also depreciating rapidly.

THE WORLD IS GOING DOWN THE DRAIN.

Now the Icelandic stock exchange has suspended all trading...very scary now.

And today Ice-Save has stopped people from withdrawing money...I think it is going into administration soon.

Stake building on the cheap.

Inclined to agree mitzy. Interesting to see if Elphida increase stake with this opportunity.

Best avoided...see below.


Tchenguiz sells stake in M&B - AFX

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Robert Tchenguiz, Mitchells & Butlers' largest shareholder, has sold his 25 percent stake in the UK pub group to an unknown buyer, the Financial Times reported.

Some 101 million shares in the All Bar One operator changed hands after the formal close of business in London yesterday at 130 pence apiece, the newspaper said.

Although the stake is understood to belong to Tchenguiz, the actual seller was Iceland's Kaupthing, which was holding the shares as collateral, it said.

The Icelandic bank is one of Tchenguiz's financial backers and bankrolled the property tycoon's move in July to convert his derivatives holding of 25 per cent into shares in order to stop it being lent to those betting on price falls.

But with banks in Iceland being forced to deleverage, Kaupthing has called back the loan it gave to Tchenguiz, the FT said.

The buyer of the stake was not immediately clear. However, sources close to the situation said it would be a strategic buyer, according to the report.

Tchenguiz, who also holds a sizeable stake in the supermarket group J Sainsbury, could not be reached for comment by the FT on Tuesday night.

Following Tuesday night's transaction, Tchenguiz still retains an economic interest of 4.8 per cent in M&B through contracts for differences, it said.

justi, why does the above announcement in itself mean that the stock should be avoided? Mr T was a forced seller at 130p and effectively removes an overhang. At 130p someone is prepared to take a longer view. Infact, the sp has improved as a consequence. Be interesting to see if Ephida was involved.

Joe Lewis, the Bahamas based British billionaire has purchased 25% of MAB shares from Mr T at 130p. For interest he also has a stake in Ladbrokes along with the Magner Irish connection

when your not working, your in the pub or betting shop. lots of jobless to come.

A new slide is forming on the chart.