What the Sunday papers said
The Sunday Times
Mitchells & Butlers is the new name for Six Continents Retail, the 2,000-strong pubs division that will be split from the leisure group's hotels arm. The company already owns the trademark - the name is taken from a group of pubs that Six Continents acquired in the early 1960s. Mitchells & Butlers was originally founded in 1898. Read more on thePublican.com...
The Bank of England will this week insist that there was no sinister reason for its surprise decision to cut interest rates from 4 per cent to 3.75 per cent. Rumours suggest the Bank acted to head off problems in the financial system - possibly the failure of a major insurer.
Pret a Manger, the highly-respected sandwich retailer, is to hold its first speed dating event on St Valentine's Day. Potential partners will be equipped with a scorecard to rate at least 10 three-minute "dates".
The Sunday Telegraph
The Telegraph also picks up the story that Six Continents will name its pub division Mitchells & Butlers. M&B grew rapidly during the 1930s as the suburbs expanded and brewers built big estates of large managed pubs.
Robin Saunders of WestLB, the bank that backs Pubmaster, has made a £900m bid approach for AWG, owner of Anglian Water. The buyout arm of the German bank is also set to take control of the 100-strong Odeon cinema chain for £450m.
The Sunday Express
Six Continents may delay its split because of recent stock market turbulence. Six Continents is expected to announce demerger details later this month. Leisure entrepreneurs Hugh Osmond and Luke Johnson have been named as potential buyers.
The Independent on Sunday
Mario Monti, the European Competition Commissioner, is to force the Premier League to carve up the sale of its football media rights, threatening BSkyB's hold on the sport.
Sharewatch: The Independent says shares in Whitbread are a buy at 478p, after listening to the advice of Old Mutual analyst David Liston: "The transformation into 'future' Whitbread has created a company that is capable of achieving above-average earnings growth in difficult economice conditions."
Sharewatch: One of the biggest casualties of the week was Allied Domecq, the world's second largest drinks company. The group said profit growth would stall because of the weak dollar, inventory cuts by wholesalers and pensions shortfalls. The stock fell nearly eight per cent.
The Business
Six Continents is planning to appoint a raft of new non-executive directors ar both Six Continents Hotels and Mitchells & Butlers.
