Whitbread has hired headhunters to find a replacement for its chief executive Alison Brittain.
Brittain, who reshaped and streamlined the Premier Inn owner, is stepping down after seven years at the helm.
Whitbread employs 30,000 staff and has 870 hotels in Britain, Germany and the Middle East. Its main brand is Premier Inn. It also owns 400 Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Table Table pub restaurants.
Its shares have fallen by about a quarter under Brittain’s tenure, while the FTSE 100 has risen by the same degree.
