Whitbread: Premier Inn owner keeps beating rivals as London hotel occupancy soars
Tourists returning to London and an expansion in Germany helped Premier Inn owner Whitbread keep on top of its rivals in the run-up to Christmas.
The hotel and restaurant chain heralded a healthy set of results this morning, with UK accommodation sales up 11 per cent, and food and drink sales also on the up.
Following its report, Whitbread’s shares rose more than two per cent after the open.
Whitbread said overall food and beverage sales for the third quarter were at £187.9m, lower than the previous two quarters, marking the 13 weeks to 30 November. This does not include the so-called ‘golden period’ for retail and hospitality, including Christmas and New Year.
It said “strong pricing” had allowed it to boost revenue per available room by nine per cent, while a major expansion in Germany also proved to bolster the company.
It said that London, its occupancy rate was at 86.3 per cent in the third quarter, with the average room rate being around £115.78. This is considerably higher than the group average of £82.30, with occupancy overall being marginally lower.
It recorded a 47 per cent growth in accommodation sales in Germany, and a more than 50 per cent rise for food and drink over the third quarter.
The company also said it it is “on track” to complete a £300m share buy-back with 6.8m shares purchased so far, for around £226m.
Over the past year, Whitbread has experienced a 25 per cent increase in its share price as Brits have looked for affordable holidays, including staycations which became popular during the pandemic.
Looking ahead to the next year, it said it expects “operational efficiencies” of between £40m to £50m, and that it had a cost base of around £1.8bn.
It maintained its outlook for the next financial year saying it had a “positive forward booked position.”
Its chief executive Dominic Paul owed the results to “robust demand” in the UK, adding that “in Germany, we performed well in what is an important trading period with a large number of leisure and business events.”
He added the company is “on course to break even on a run-rate basis during calendar year 2024.”