Whitbread said today that it remained focused on cost control because it had ” yet to see any substantive signs of improvement in the economic environment” and was on schedule for the delivery of £25m in cost savings.
It said the expansion of its Premier Inn brand has continued with the opening of seven hotels and 1,167 rooms so far this year.
The budget hotel chains’s like-for-like sales in the 24 weeks were down 7.7% and revenue per available room was down 9.4%, an improvement on the first quarter run rate.
Like-for-like sales of its pub restaurant brands – Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns – were up 2.1%.
Trading at Whitbread’s coffee chain, Costa Coffee, was “well ahead of expectations”. Like-for-like sales were up 2.7% and sales in the
Costa Coffee has opened a 88 shops this year, bringing the total portfolio to 969.
The group said in its statement: “Backed by a strong freehold asset base our balance sheet remains robust. We anticipate debt at the half year to be at a similar level to the year end.”
“There are a number of specific factors that are contributing to our performance. Costa’s trading has been well ahead of expectations and we are seeing the benefits of our value offers in pub restaurants and our focus on cost control.
“Furthermore, we face softer Premier Inn comparatives in the second half. In the absence of any deterioration in trading, we expect the outturn for the full year to be at least at the higher end of current market expectations.”
