Whitbread - Hospitality

Whitbread looks to offload underperforming Beefeater and Brewers Fayre sites

25-Mar-2024 By James McAllister

Whitbread is looking to sell or convert around a third of its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pubs estate.

Whitbread sells stake in Pure

03-Jan-2024 By James McAllister

Whitbread has sold its stake in health-focused grab and go brand Pure.

M&B tipped as frontrunner in £600m Whitbread sale process

16-Jun-2023 By Georgi Gyton

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has been tipped as the frontrunner in the sale of 250 of Whitbread’s 440 pub-restaurants.

Whitbread considering sale of restaurant brands

30-May-2023 By James McAllister

Whitbread is understood to be exploring the potential sale of part of its £700m pub and restaurant arm in order to focus its efforts on its Premier Inn hotel chain.

Bar + Block to open two new restaurants in the capital

02-Feb-2022 By Restaurant

Steakhouse brand Bar + Block is bolstering its London estate with the opening of two new restaurants in the capital.

Whitbread takes Bar + Block to Scotland

11-Jun-2021 By James McAlilister

Whitbread is taking its Bar + Block Steakhouse brand to Scotland for the first time, with openings in Glasgow and Edinburgh planned.

Whitbread confirms 1,500 job cuts as sales plunge

14-Jan-2021 By James McAllister

Whitbread has confirmed 1,500 job cuts from across its restaurant and hotel businesses amid a downturn in trade that saw sales more than halve.

Whitbread to reduce number of job cuts by half

12-Nov-2020 By James McAllister

Whitbread is set to significantly reduce the number of job cuts it proposed in September, suggesting the furlough extension and recent vaccine hopes could soften the employment crisis in hospitality.

Whitbread to cut 6,000 jobs

22-Sep-2020 By James McAllister

Beefeater and Brewers Fayre operator Whitbread is to cut up to 6,000 jobs across its hotel and restaurant brands after a collapse in sales caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

How I Got Here: Paul Fletcher

12-Jun-2019 By Joe Lutrario

The innovation chef for Bar + Block Steakhouse has a CV that includes Chez Gerard, Scott’s and Argentine steak houses Buenos Aires and Gaucho.

Whitbread launches new pub format to trade alongside Premier Inn

06-Nov-2017 By Joe Lutrario

Whitbread - the hospitality behemoth behind Costa, Beefeater and Brewers Fayre - has launched a new pub brand in Oldbury, West Midlands.

Whitbread to open flagship Bar & Block at King's Cross

09-Sep-2016 By Emma Eversham

Whitbread is to open a flagship branch of its steak-focused all-day dining restaurant Bar & Block at London's King's Cross.

Whitbread enters food-to-go sector with 49% stake in Pure

04-May-2016 By Mark Wingett

Whitbread has made a move into the UK’s food-to-go sector with the acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in London based company, Healthy Retail Ltd, trading as ‘Pure’, for £6.8m.

Whitbread chief exec to depart ahead of Costa and Premier Inn expansion

28-Apr-2015 By Sophie Witts

The chief executive of Whitbread has announced his plans to leave the company, as the operator set out its five year expansion plans for Premier Inn and Costa today (28 April).

Costa trials zero-energy 'eco-pod' restaurant

14-Apr-2015 By Sophie Witts

Costa has opened a zero-energy ‘eco-pod’ coffee shop at Wrekin Retail Park in Telford.

Sandra Kelly of Whitbread on plugging the skills gap in hospitality

23-Jan-2015 By Emma Eversham

Sandra Kelly, head of education at Whitbread, suggests ways the hospitality sector can best address its skills shortage.

Whitbread FY lfls up 4.2%

29-Apr-2014 By John Harrington

Whitbread has reported a 4.2% rise in like-for-like sales in the year to 27 February, with growth accelerating in the second half.

Whitbread raises its Premier Inn expansion targets

01-May-2013 By Luke Nicholls

The UK’s largest hotel and restaurants company Whitbread has outlined ambitious expansion plans and growth milestones for 2018 after delivering double-digit growth in sales, profit and dividend for the financial year to 28 February.

Whitbread to boost food standards after horsemeat scandal as sales growth slows

26-Feb-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Whitbread, which owns the Premier Inn, Beefeater and Costa Coffee chains, saw a 12.9 per cent sales growth in the 50 weeks to 14 February 2013, and the company is now launching a full investigation into its meat supply chain after falling foul of the...

Horsemeat Scandal spreads to Sodexo & Burger Manufacturing Company

22-Feb-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Catering giant Sodexo and restaurant and pub supplier Burger Manufacturing Company (BMC) are the latest businesses to fall foul of the horsemeat scandal after some of their products have tested positive for equine DNA.

Horsemeat scandal: Whitbread makes ‘shocking’ discovery

15-Feb-2013 By Luke Nicholls

The UK’s largest hotel and restaurant operator, Whitbread, has found horsemeat in its lasagne and beef burger products that were reportedly sold in Premier Inn, Brewers Fayre, Beefeater Grill and Table Table outlets.

Whitbread changes suppliers over horsemeat concerns

22-Jan-2013 By Luke Nicholls

The UK’s largest hotel and restaurant operator, Whitbread, has been forced to remove thousands of burgers from some of its menus after a supplier embroiled in the horsemeat scandal couldn't guarantee its quality.

Behind the scenes at Whitbread’s Food & Beverage Skills Academy

09-Jan-2013 By Luke Nicholls

In an industry where staff training is paramount, the UK’s largest hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread is leading the pack, having set up a number of Food and Beverage Skills Academies across the UK in a bid to improve the abilities and brand awareness...

Restaurants begin phasing out 2-for-1 deals in bid to break discount bind

12-Oct-2012 By Luke Nicholls

High street restaurants are moving away from two-for-one discount deals in favour of vouchers offering smaller reductions available for more limited periods – could this be the first sign of a break in the ‘discount bind’?

Heavy rain, Diamond Jubilee and Euro 2012 bring ‘mixed fortunes’ for eating out sector

18-Jul-2012 By Luke Nicholls

UK restaurants and pubs saw like-for-like sales edge up 1.3 per cent last month, but a combination of the unusually cold and wet weather, Euro 2012 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee brought contrasting prosperities for the sector.

Whitbread maintains restaurant performance with 'sharper focus'

19-Jun-2012 By Peter Ruddick

Premier Inn, Costa Coffee and Beefeater operator Whitbread has reported a rise in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 31 May driven by its coffee shop and hotel business but said a 'sharper focus' on restaurants was yielding results.

Whitbread sees Costa Coffee sales boost and Premier Inn recovery

26-Apr-2012 By Luke Nicholls

Restaurant, hotel and coffee shop operator Whitbread has reported an 11.2 per cent increase in total revenue for the financial year to 1 March 2012, with Group like-for-like sales also up 2.6 per cent.

Whitbread third in British top employers list

26-Mar-2012 By Peter Ruddick

Whitbread and J D Wetherspoon have been named among the best British employers in the Corporate Research Foundation (CRF) Institute's latest rundown of the leading companies in the country in terms of taking care of employees and providing excellent...

Premier Inn launches free Wi-Fi service across all hotels

11-Jan-2012 By Luke Nicholls

Premier Inn, the UK’s largest budget hotel chain, has today launched a free Wi-fi service across all of its properties, offering customers up to half an hour of unlimited connectivity.

Whitbread reveals Q3 sales growth of 11.4%

13-Dec-2011 By Peter Ruddick

Hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread saw total sales rise 11.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2011 with its budget hotel brand Premier Inn and coffee chain Costa responsible for the growth.

Whitbread boss urges more businesses to back Payroll Giving scheme

14-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

Whitbread chief executive Andy Harrison is among a handful of business heads who are urging other companies to back the Payroll Giving scheme which allows workers to give part of their wages directly to charity.

Whitbread and The Prince’s Trust unite to combat youth unemployment

13-Oct-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants has teamed up with The Prince’s Trust to offer a programme which will provide disadvantaged young people with the skills and confidence to find a job.

Whitbread gets go-ahead for Blackfriars Premier Inn

05-Oct-2011 By Emma Eversham

Whitbread has been given the go-ahead to start work converting a former office block in Blackfriars, London into a 258-bedroom Premier Inn.

Whitbread raises £54m through sale and leaseback of seven hotels

12-Aug-2011 By Becky Paskin

Whitbread, the UK’s largest hotel and restaurant group, is to sell and leaseback seven Premier Inns and adjacent restaurants to LaSalle Investment Management for £53.8m.

Whitbread first quarter performance hit by Royal Wedding

21-Jun-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Premier Inn operator Whitbread has reported a continued sales increase in its first financial quarter, but said that business suffered in April as a result of the extended Easter and the Royal Wedding holiday.

Whitbread ramps up expansion of Premier Inn

28-Apr-2011 By Becky Paskin

Whitbread has ramped up its expansion plans for budget hotel chain Premier Inn and adjoined restaurants following strong end of year trading results.

Premier Inn secures two new hotels in west country

06-Apr-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Budget hotel chain Premier Inn is to open two new hotels in the west of England as part of its broader expansion plans for a UK network of hotels.

Whitbread considers scrapping baths at Premier Inn

15-Mar-2011 By Becky Paskin

Whitbread is considering plans to scrap baths at new Premier Inn sites, in a bid to conserve water and improve its carbon footprint.

Whitbread launches Costa Express self-serve coffee brand

02-Mar-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Whitbread has acquired the coffee vending firm Coffee Nation, which it will incorporate into its subsidiary Costa to create a new express coffee-bar brand.

Whitbread plans 200 new hotels by 2015

21-Sep-2010 By Martyn Leek

Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn and Beefeater, intends to open 200 new hotels in the next four to five years, BigHospitality understands

Whitbread sees ‘continued growth’

07-Sep-2010 By Becky Paskin

Premier Inn and Costa Coffee operator Whitbread has today revealed a 7.9 per cent hike in like for like sales for the 24 weeks to 19 August

Greene King picks up former Whitbread site

09-Jul-2010 By Chris Druce

Whitbread has sold a former Brewers Fayre in Nottinghamshire to pub operator Greene King, as it concentrates on co-located Premier Inn and pub/restaurant locations

Whitbread invests £42m in Scottish hotels and restaurants

06-Apr-2010 By Emma Eversham

Whitbread is to spend more than £42m on building hotels and restaurants in Scotland over the next two years

Whitbread to open second 'green' Premier Inn

11-Jan-2010 By Emma Eversham

Whitbread has unveiled plans to open its second 'green' Premier Inn and its first low-carbon restaurant in Burgess Hill in West Sussex this autumn

Costa spearheads ‘outstanding’ Whitbread trading

15-Dec-2009 By Becky Paskin

Whitbread has reported an ‘improving performance’ across its hotel, pub and restaurant brands, with Costa delivering ‘outstanding’ trading results

Whitbread pledges to cut carbon emissions by 26%

08-Dec-2009 By Emma Eversham

Premier Inn and Beefeater owner Whitbread has pledged to cut its carbon emissions by 26 per cent by 2020

Whitbread sales drop 3% in first six months of 2009

14-Oct-2009 By Emma Eversham

Premier Inn owner Whitbread said it was coming through a 'difficult period remarkably well' and was well-placed for the upturn despite seeing sales and profits drop nearly 3 per cent in the first half of this year