Pub life: M&B shrugs off troubles

Lewis, above, could be back before long - he's free to try again in April.

Today M&B reported that sales over Christmas - the nine weeks to January 21 - were up 6.5%. A focus on food and families seems to be paying dividends - something the shares do not pay, incidentally.

The whole board - what's left of it - faces a vote at an annual meeting in Birmingham today but are thought likely to survive.

It is down to just five men, two of them Lewis' representatives, following the departure of chairman Simon Burke and non-executive director Michael Balfour. The Association of British Insurers, whose member companies are major institutional investors, has issued a "red top" warning - indicating its highest level of concern - over the board's make-up.

The continued uncertainty created by Lewis' presence makes finding new directors difficult.

Chairman Bob Ivell insisted today that he is making "good progress" towards appointing a new chief executive.

Geof Collyer at Deutsche Bank said: "The potential for further instability... reinforces our view that M&B remains pretty much uninvestible."

Paul Hickman at Peel Hunt said: "It has to negotiate organisational changes, and lacks a chief executive, and investors must also accept uncertainty on the intentions of Joe Lewis, an irregular board and the continued lack of a dividend."