Area manager pulls his way to top at Mitchells

Mitchells & Butlers, the owner of the All Bar One and O’Neills bar chains, named a former district manager as its new chief executive yesterday. Adam Fowle, 49, joined Bass – as the business was then known – in 1984 and rose through the ranks to become chief operating officer and then acting chief executive following the departure of the incumbent Tim Clarke in May.

Drummond Hall, the chairman of M&B, confirmed Mr Fowle’s permanent appointment following a search involving external and internal candidates. Mr Clarke left the top job after the company racked up massive losses in the wake of a disastrous hedge against interest rates.

His replacement joined the M&B board in 2007, when he was appointed managing director for the restaurants estate, which includes Harvester. He has also managed the pubs and bars division.

Mr Fowle, whose run of service at M&B was broken by a spell as retail director at Sainsbury’s in 2003, described the company as a “great business with tremendous prospects”. Mitchells & Butlers’ shares rose by 3 per cent to 268p following yesterday’s announcement.