News that Mitchells & Butlers has finally found a new chief executive - it's been without one since March 2011 - could materially change sentiment towards the pubs operator. For some time its shares have traded at a large discount to its competitors because of the leadership gap and the interventions and attempted offers by the company's 26 per cent shareholder Piedmont, a vehicle used by billionaire currency trader Joe Lewis. Another vehicle belonging to horse-racing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier also has a 20 per cent stake.
M&B's issues will not disappear in a puff of smoke with the appointment of its new boss, Alistair Darby, who has been poached from Marston's where he was chief operating officer and had worked for 15 years. However, Mr Darby's appointment could be crucial in revitalising the company's tarnished image. The trouble at the top has overshadowed the fact that M&B is considered to own some of the strongest pub and pub-restaurant brands in the sector, including Harvester and Toby Carvery. If Mr Lewis and other shareholders prove supportive and Mr Darby is able to strengthen the board, especially the non-executive directors, then there is potential for the share price to rise.
