The owner of Premier Inn is preparing to sell and rent well -established hotels worth at least a billion pounds to finance the upcoming expansion.
Whitbread stated the signs of the return of the real estate investment market and said that it had a selection of sites that “have the opportunity to add value”.
In the first half of 2025, Whitbread completed the sale and rent of two hotels for £ 56 million, and the average return was just over 4%. The company is also progressing with seven extra hotels sales and rental in different regional locations throughout the UK.
As part of a five-year strategy, which returned at least £ 2 billion to shareholders, the group intends to “recycle” at least one billion more mature properties through sales and leases.
CEO Dominic Paul stated that confidence in the five -year strategy has led WhitBread to commit to the € 250 million share in the next 12 months.
He added: “With a more favorable view in the real estate investment market, we strive to recycle at least 1B of our mature real estate assets to finance future growth and increase the higher economic return.”
Whitbread reported that net sales have decreased by 1% over a 52 week ended on February 27, 2025, and prior tax wins fell 14% to £ 483 million.
The group looked at the descent in the planned restaurant -closing portfolio, a weaker demand in the UK market, and the rise in costs.
Last year, the Premier Inn operator revealed its plans to convert 112 branded products into hotel rooms and completely exit 126 restaurant sites.
Over the next 12 months, the group plans to open 1,000-1200 new rooms in the United Kingdom, 500-700 in former food and drink plants.
