Whitbread hit by weaker demand for Premier Inn regional rooms

Investors checked out of Whitbread on Thursday, spooked by the Premier Inn ­owner’s warning that business and consumer confidence remains weak outside the capital.

The company said it had a cautious approach to hotel demand for the financial year to February 2021.

Shares in the leisure group lost 212p, or more than 4%, to 4625p after it published third-quarter results.

Whitbread, which also runs the Beefeater restaurants brand and Brewers Fayre pubs business, said that although total sales increased 1%, comparable sales in the UK fell 1.3%, dragged down by a fall in accommodation sales here.

The firm is hugely exposed to the hotels market after completing a £3.9 billion sale of its Costa Coffee arm to Coca-Cola in January last year.

Chief executive Alison Brittain said business travellers are holding off on last-minute bookings. She added: “Weak business and leisure confidence in the regions continued, which was partially offset by the strength of the central London market, where we ­outperformed.”

Whitbread said: “The UK political and economic environment remains uncertain and the sustained industry inflation continues.It remains difficult to predict business confidence in the short term.”

However, the company pointed to growth plans in Germany being on target and further expansion planned in Britain.

Whitbread expects to meet full-year expectations and Brittain said: "Despite the short-term economic uncertainty, there remains significant long-term opportunities."