The parent company of Toby Carvery, O’Neills and several other well-known pubs and restaurants has been fined £75,000 in a Bucks court for unlawfully dumping “matter” in a sewer.

Mitchells & Butlers Leisure Retail was taken to Wycombe Magistrates Court on May 28, where it pleaded guilty to throwing, emptying or turning into a public sewer matter which is likely to injure the sewer or interfere with free flow.

The firm, which is based in Fleet Street, Birmingham, was charged with dumping “matter” at The Turnpike, one of its Vintage Inn pubs in Woodstock Road, Kidlington.

The court heard how the offending took place between April 2017 and April 2018.

Following the guilty plea, Mitchells & Butlers was fined £75,000 by the magistrates. The firm was also ordered to pay £3,416 compensation and £13,381 costs – leaving a final balance of more than £90,000.

Mitchells & Butlers Leisure Retail runs several well-known restaurants and bar chains in the UK, including All Bar One, Miller & Carter, Toby Carvery, Harvester, Vintage Inns, O’Neills and more.

According to the firm’s financial results for 2020, it made a revenue of 1.47billion and it employs 42,500 people.

It’s annual report for last financial year states that its strategy aims include “reducing our impact on the environment” and “utilise our scale and position to lead on environmental issues which impact our sector, finding innovative solutions to pressing issues.”

Mitchell & Butlers Leisure Retail has been ordered to pay the full balance by July 28.

A Mitchells & Butlers spokesperson said: “We pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and have expressed an unreserved apology for the failure of one of our businesses, The Turnpike, to correctly follow our robust systems for fat, oil and grease management, resulting in the incorrect disposal of these materials.

“As a business we are acutely aware of the importance of environmental protection and the role our businesses play, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of environmental protection across our estate. Following an investigation a number of internal improvements have been made to ensure an incident of this nature does not take place again.”