Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) chairman Roger Carr has come under fire from shareholders after taking the same non-executive role at Cadbury’s – his fifth position.

The appointment comes just weeks after M&B ran up a £274m loss on hedging arrangements in a botched property deal with property tycoon and investor Robert Tchenguiz.

The Cadbury’s role marks Carr's fifth position along with his chairmanship of British Gas owner Centrica, his post as senior adviser to KKR, the private equity group, and role as member of the Court of Directors of the Bank of England.

One M&B shareholder told the Daily Mail: “I think it's negligence at the end of the day. These directors run companies as if they are their own and then they just throw their hands up in the air and have no responsibility when things go wrong.”

Carr was a key figure behind the creation of M&B in 2003 when Six Continents split its pubs and hotels division, creating the business that would eventually become InterContinental Hotels.

The pub group is looking to kick-start a confidential auction period to three likely bidders for its business, including rival pub group Punch Taverns.

Board at Mitchells & Butlers under fire after £274m loss >> 

Six Continents to spin off pubs and give shareholders £700m >> 

By Christopher Walton

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