Hospitality operator Mitchells and Butlers has reported sales growth of 5.3 percent for the 52 weeks to 28 September, pushing revenue up 6.1 percent to £2.6bn.

The growth figure is 1.7 percent above the UK market rate, and helped the company record a 41.2 percent uptick in operating profit to £312m.

“We are delighted by the very strong performance during the year,” said CEO Phil Urban. “Like-for-like sales continued to outperform the market, which, coupled with easing inflationary costs and focus on efficiencies, has resulted in very strong profit recovery.”

Though the first seven weeks of 2025 have also seen a 4 percent increase in like-for-like sales, Urban warned that the higher Employer NICs could cost the company up to £100m over the coming year. 

“We face increased inflationary cost headwinds in the year ahead. However, we shall remain focused on our established Ignite programme of initiatives and our successful capital investment programme, to drive further cost efficiencies and increased sales.”

Reporting on the figures, financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown said: “Looking ahead we believe the group’s focus on customer satisfaction and strong branding means there’s scope for margins to rise again once the initial shock to the cost base has been absorbed.”