Hotel operator Whitbread is pushing ahead with plans to create thousands of new rooms across its portfolio by converting restaurants.
In its latest results, the company said that converting 112 “lower returning branded restaurants” will “unlock” 3,500 new room extensions.
“Our plan will further improve the guest experience through a tailored F&B offering, whilst increasing our rooms pipeline in locations where we already know that there is a need for more rooms, capitalising on the favourable UK supply backdrop,” the company said.
Whitbread has already made planning applications for more than a third of the sites, with the first already approved and under way. The first rooms are expected to be operational by the end of its 2026 financial year.
The company also said it had accepted offers on 51 of 16 branded restaurants for a total consideration of £56m, with construction under way to build an integrated F&B offer at a number of these sites. “Working with our advisers, we remain confident in being able to exit the remaining sites over the next 18 months,” Whitbread added.
Chief executive Dominic Paul said: “In the UK, we have a clear pathway to further extend our market-leading position and capitalise on the favourable UK supply backdrop. We are determined to build on our significant outperformance since the pandemic and whilst the market has been slightly softer than last year, we remain on course to grow our UK returns substantially over the medium-term.”
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