Premier Inn owner – UK hospitality conglomerate Whitbread – has said it has seen “an improving trend” in the past six weeks, following a “soft start” to September.
While it owns a number of family eateries around the UK, Whitbread’s main business is the Premier Inn budget hotel chain, which operates across the UK, Ireland and Germany.
While accommodation sales have been down 1%, year-on-year, in the latest trading period, Premier Inn has shown strong growth in Germany and Ireland.
In its half-year results announcement, Whitbread said: “We have seen an improvement in recent weeks with a good pick-up in bookings across October and into November. Our positive forward booked position, together with the continued deployment of our commercial initiatives, means that we remain confident in driving like-for-like sales in the second half.”
Whitbread’s group revenue – in its first half – was flat at £1.57bn; while adjusted pre-tax profits were down 13% at £340m.
Nevertheless, the group said its five-year plan targets at least £300m more profit and over £2bn available for shareholder returns.
“Our financial strength underpins our confidence in continuing to grow our estate, improve our guest offer, invest in our teams and enhance the quality of our systems, each of which help us to both drive revenues and reduce costs. It also means that we can take advantage of selective M&A opportunities that meet our returns requirements and deliver incremental value for the group,” Whitbread said.
