Sales at sites open a year or more increased by 4.3% in the three months to the end of May, the company said in a trading update. Total sales rose 12.5% once new hotels and cafes were included.
In London, Premier Inn’s total sales were up 21.6% as the budget hotel chain boosted the number of rooms available by nearly 25%, but revenue per room fell 1%. Outside the capital, sales were up 12.4% and revenue per room rose 6.4%.
Whitbread’s shares, up about 8% this year, fell 0.8% to £50 in early afternoon trading on Tuesday.
Total sales at Costa Coffee climbed 17.2% as revenues at UK stores open a year or more increased by 5%. Andy Harrison, Whitbread’s chief executive, said: “Whitbread has begun the new financial year well, in line with expectations. Our leading brands continue to win market share.”
The company said Alison Brittain would join as chief executive designate from Lloyds Banking Group on 28 September, three months earlier than expected.
She will replace Harrison in December, a month earlier than intended. Brittain, who heads Lloyds’ retail bank, was a surprise choice to take over because she has spent her career in banking, not the leisure industry. Analysts at Barclays said her early arrival was good news for Whitbread.
Harrison, who has helped Whitbread’s stock market value soar from £2.5bn to nearly £10bn during his five-year tenure, will retire from full-time executive life at the end of 2015.
In April, the group upped its expansion targets for 2020, aiming to increase the number of Premier Inn’s rooms in the UK from 59,471 to 85,000, and boost Costa’s sales from £1.4bn to £2.5bn as it expands overseas. Costa’s biggest overseas market is China, where it has about 350 branches.
theguardian.com
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