Whitbread is vigorously advancing restructuring

Whitbread, known as the owner of the hotel brand Premier Inn and various restaurant brands, has now accepted offers for 51 of its restaurant locations for a total price of £56 million. This decision is part of the company's strategic realignment, focusing on the disposal of 126 restaurants and the conversion of an additional 112 into hotel rooms, under the "Accelerating Growth Plan" (AGP) initiative. It remains unclear which specific locations are affected by the offers. Initial reports from March 2024 suggested that Whitbread plans to sell certain restaurant locations and convert others. As early as the following month, the company confirmed these plans, which will also result in 1,500 job losses. The recently presented interim financial results for the first half of the 2025 fiscal year show that these measures are now being implemented. Whitbread expressed confidence about the transactions: "We have accepted offers for 51 locations, with total proceeds of £56 million. Construction work is already underway at various sites to create integrated dining concepts. We expect the first projects to be completed before the end of the fiscal year." With the support of advisors, Whitbread plans to divest the remaining locations over the next 18 months. The AGP aims to optimize the dining offerings to better meet guest expectations. Applications for more than a third of the planned 3,500 new hotel rooms have already been submitted. Despite an anticipated decline in restaurant revenues by 7% in the 26 weeks up to August 29, 2024, the company is showing strength in its integrated dining areas due to high hotel occupancy. In early 2024, Whitbread withdrew from its 49% stake in the healthy café brand Pure to focus more on its core hotel business.