Whitbread Reports Strong 2nd Quarter

Whitbread, the leisure group, has reported that sales in its 2nd quarter were strong at their budget hotel chain Premier Inn. This comes after demand has picked up from business customers, while special offers have boosted occupancy for holiday periods and weekends. Business sales at the hotel chain were up over 20%, as companies have continued to reduce staff travel costs. The hotel brand also posted a 10.9% increase in like-for-like sales during the period, which ended August 19. This is slightly higher than the 10.5% rise they had in June.

Premier Inn generates about two-thirds of the profits at Whitbread. The brand has benefited from increases in the market, which has included an advertising campaign with comedian Lenny Henry, as well as the impact of dynamic pricing, with rooms priced in accordance with demand.

Whitbread also saw stronger trading at their Costa Coffee chain, with new food and drink offers helping quarterly like-for-like sales jump 8.1%, which is similar to the rise it saw in June. The group’s restaurant division, which includes Brewers Fayre and Beefeater, like-for-like sales were up 4.3% for the quarter compared to the 3.6% increase in the firm’s 1st quarter. The division had an additional 6.7% customers due to their menus offering value-for-money on some of the country’s favorite dishes.

Current chief executive Alan Parker, who is set to resign in November, says that the company is still confident about prospects for the rest of the year, despite facing tougher comparisons with last year. They will keep making progress through this austerity age by relentlessly focusing on meeting their customers’ needs, he added.