Premier Inn owner Whitbread to cut 1,500 jobs and close over 200 restaurants for hotel expansion

Published: 30 April 2024 at 08:32

Business

Premier Inn owner Whitbread plans to cut 1,500 jobs in the UK and close more than 200 restaurants to focus on expanding its hotel business. The job cuts are part of a cost-cutting drive despite the company's 36% rise in annual profits to 561 million pounds. The company aims to add 3,500 hotel rooms and convert restaurant spaces into accommodations, with plans to sell unprofitable restaurants while keeping larger ones adjacent to hotels.

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Whitbread (Wikipedia)

Whitbread is a British multinational hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England.The business was founded as a brewery in 1742, and had become the largest brewery in the world by the 1780s.Its largest division is currently Premier Inn, which is the largest hotel brand in the UK with over 785 hotels and 72,000 rooms. Until January 2019 it owned Costa Coffee but sold it to The Coca-Cola Company. Whitbread's brands include the restaurant chains Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Table Table.Whitbread is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Premier Inn (Wikipedia)

Premier Inn Limited is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 800 hotels, with over 72,000 rooms. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports, competing with the likes of Travelodge and Ibis hotels. The company was established by Whitbread as Travel Inn in 1987, to compete with Travelodge. Whitbread bought Premier Lodge in July 2004 and merged it with Travel Inn to form the current business under the name Premier Travel Inn, which was then shortened to the current name in October 2007. Premier Inn accounts for 70% of Whitbread's earnings.