Dominic Paul, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“When I joined Whitbread as CEO in January 2023, it was clear to me that we had a high performing hotels business, with a strong platform for growth in both the UK and Germany. Our strategy of continuing to invest in our brand, teams, and estate for the benefit of our guests and customers has secured a market-leading position for Premier Inn in the UK and is also delivering strong business performance.
“Our significant freehold estate and strong balance sheet mean we are in a unique position to be able to add 3,500 new hotel rooms and meet the strong demand we are seeing from guests around the country, whilst continuing to offer a great breakfast and dinner at all of our hotels. This plan is a further positive step, delivering a better experience for our hotel guests and helping to extend our market leadership in the UK.
“I recognise that these changes will be unsettling for affected team members and we are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of those affected to stay with Whitbread by either transferring into roles this plan will create, or by taking up other vacancies across the business more broadly through our existing recruitment activity that makes c.15,000 hires each year. Our teams are at the heart of our guest experience, and I want to thank each and every team member for their continued hard work and dedication to deliver the great quality, service and value that our guests expect from us.”
Financial impact
While there will be a short-term impact to UK profits in the current financial year, this plan will deliver a positive and significant step-change in the performance of our UK business over the next few years, increasing profitability, our return on capital and underpinning our confidence in the medium-term outlook.
For more detail on the financial impact of these changes, please see the separate FY24 results announcement, also published today.
Notes for Editors
Whitbread PLC is the owner of Premier Inn and restaurant brands including: Bar+Block (21), Beefeater (171), Brewers Fayre (148), Cookhouse & Pub (21), Table Table (61) and Whitbread Inns (12).
From booking to bed, Premier Inn is here to help its guests rest easy. A choice of almost 96,000 rooms across 900+ hotels, tasty food, flexible rates and friendly team members who genuinely care, are just some of the reasons Premier Inn is one of the most-loved hotels in the UK and beyond. Outside of the UK, Whitbread's expansion plans are focused on Germany.
Whitbread is committed to being a force for good in the communities in which it operates. Its sustainability programme, ‘Force for Good’ is focused on enabling people to live and work well and is built around three pillars of Opportunity, Community and Responsibility.
Whitbread PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE.
ENDS
