Plans to cut 1,500 jobs in the UK (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 30 Apr - Whitbread said that in the seven weeks to April 18 total accommodation sales were 1% lower than a year earlier for Premier Inn in the UK.

"We are expecting a positive step-up in demand across business and leisure over the next few weeks supported by our forward booked revenue position which is ahead of last year.

This, together with our strong commercial programme, means that we remain confident in continuing to outperform the market," it added.

Sales for the UK F&B business were 2% behind the previous year, with a strong performance in integrated restaurants offset by softer trading in a number of branded restaurants, Whitbread added.

Total accommodation sales were up 21% for Premier Inn Germany and RevPAR was 54 euros.

Under its Accelerating Growth Plan (AGP) it plans converting 112 lower-returning branded restaurants into new hotel rooms having first transferred the delivery of F&B to an integrated restaurant and exiting 126 lower-returning branded restaurants.

The group plans to unlock 3,500 new room extensions, that will see the group reach at least 97,000 open rooms in the UK by the end of fiscal 2029. The plan will require about 500 million pounds of investment over the next four years which will be funded through its existing annual capital expenditure programme.

AGP will result in the reduction of around 1,500 roles out of a total UK workforce of 37,000, it added.

The plan will drive increased margins and returns for the UK business. A one-off impact of 20-25 million pound reduction to UK adjusted pretax profit in FY25 will be fully recovered in FY26 and deliver incremental adjusted pretax profit of 30-40 millionin FY27. By FY29 the plan should deliver increased adjusted pretax profi of 80-90 million pounds.

In fiscal 2025, it continues to expect net inflation on its 1.72 billion pound UK cost base of between 3-4%, after 40-50 million pounds of efficiency savings In Germany, it remains on course to breakeven on a run-rate basis during calendar year 2024, Whitbread added.

In FY25, the group expects to open 750-1,250 rooms in the UK and about 400 rooms in Germany.

It expects gross capital expenditure in FY25, including to be between 550-600 million pounds, partially offset by proceeds from property transactions of 175-225 million, including sale and leasebacks and disposals.

In the medium-term, the group said that it remains confident about its prospects.".

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(RADIOCOR) 30-04-24 09:21:50 (0244) 5 NNNN