The new head of B&Q owner Kingfisher has said there is "much to do" to turn around the group's fortunes after sales slid further in the third quarter.

Thierry Garnier, who took over eight weeks ago from former chief executive Veronique Laury, said recent trading had been "disappointing" as the group continues to suffer from a lengthy overhaul programme and tough market conditions.

The group said B&Q's UK and Ireland like-for-like sales declines accelerated to 3.4% in the quarter to October 31.

This was offset once more by growth of 3.7% at its Screwfix arm, albeit marking a slowdown on the chain's first-half performance.

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Sales in France also remained under pressure, tumbling 6.1%, with a 5.2% drop for its other international operations.

Kingfisher cautioned trading would remain tough for the final quarter across all its operations, with the UK continuing to be impacted by disruption to sales from range changes as well as a tough market backdrop.

Mr Garnier said: "It is clear that there is much to do to improve our performance.

"Kingfisher's trading during the third quarter was disappointing."

He added: "We are suffering from organisational complexity, and we are trying to do too much at once with multiple large-scale initiatives running in parallel.

"Altogether, this has brought disruption to sales and has distracted the business from focusing on customers."

All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers has hailed a "strong" year after investment across its sites helped to boost sales despite "challenging" conditions in the sector.

The Birmingham-based company saw like-for-like sales jump 3.5% in the year to September, as total revenues rose to £2.23 billion.

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It also saw pre-tax profit for the year increase, rising by 36% to £177 million for the 12-month period.

It said sales growth has slowed to 1.4% for the most recent seven weeks due to wet weather.

The group said that performance was boosted by its programme of investment into refurbishments, with 240 of its 1,748 pubs being "remodelled" during the year.

Phil Urban, chief executive of the pub group, said he believed the investment has put the company in a "stronger position" as it moves forward into the new financial year, while it expects challenging market conditions to continue.

Food sales across the business jumped 3.4%, while drinks sales increased by 3.2%, driven by increased spend per customer.

The Toby Carvery owner noted that the dining industry has continued to be impacted by "rising costs" and "supply which has outstripped demand" over the year.

Fever-Tree has warned that full-year sales are set to miss annual forecasts after a weak performance in the UK.

The tonic maker said its UK sales for the off-trade - supermarket and off-licence sales - were below expectations in the second half of the year on the back of "weak consumer spending".

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However, it said it has continued to "perform well" in UK bars, pubs and restaurants, after gaining a number of new accounts.

Fever-Tree had previously warned that it would struggle to repeat its "exceptionally strong" summer of 2018.

In a trading update on Wednesday, the drinks business said it failed to keep up with its performance in July and August 2018 as consumer uncertainty hit sales.

However, it said it has been buoyed by rapid sales growth in the US, which has surpassed its expectations.

US sales accelerated in the second half of the year on the back of new distribution deals, while the company has also signed a contract with a new bottling partner on the West Coast for 2020.

It said it now expects sales growth of 34% in the US for the year, ahead of its forecasts, as the premium mixer sector continues to boom.

Meanwhile, across Europe, sales also accelerated in the second half of the year, with the company predicting 19% growth for the whole year.