Tax exile acquires Mitchells & Butlers stake
Billionaire property developer and tax exile Joe Lewis has been confirmed as the buyer of most of Robert Tchenguiz's stake in Mitchells & Butlers (M&B).
In a statement released today M&B said "Joe Lewis has acquired through an investment vehicle, Piedmont Inc 87,973,937 ordinary shares in Mitchells & Butlers. The resulting percentage of voting rights held is 21.77%".
Tchenguiz retains around four per cent of M&B stock, but Lewis is understood to be negotiating to buy this as well.
It also announced that Tchenguiz's representatives on the M&B board, Aaron Brown and Tim Smalley, "have stepped down as non-executive directors of the company with immediate effect".
Bahamas-based 71 year-old Lewis, who effectively owns Tottenham Hotspur football club and has a range of global property interests, acquired the stake in the operator yesterday.
A currency speculator as well as property magnate, Lewis was reported to have lost up to £500m in a punt on US investment bank Bear Stearns when the firm collapsed earlier this year.
A tax exile since 1979, Lewis teamed up with fellow currency gambler and billionaire George Soros in 1992 and took a bet on sterling leaving the European Exchange rate Mechanism.
Reports at the time suggested he made more on the punt than Soros. The ERM exit cost the Treasury nearly £3.5bn at the time.
One City analyst said the sale to Lewis was the best of bad situation.
"They'll be glad to see the back of Tchenguiz, but will be wondering what Lewis plans," he said.
M&B's share were up more than 2.5 per cent at 167.75p.
