Top brands cheer Whitbread

WHITBREAD today admitted it was still suffering tough conditions in the London hotels market in the wake of 11 September and continued economic uncertainty.

The group's Marriott and Swallow hotels suffered a 0.1% decline in like-for-like sales and an 8.9% slump in operating profits during the year to 2 March. Chief executive David Thomas said the six London Marriotts were still experiencing 'softness' but had kept yields above those of the rest of the industry. 'Normally they would expect to see 50% of their guests coming from the US. That is currently running at only 35%,' he said.

The group has been marketing city breaks heavily and Thomas has high hopes for the Jubilee celebrations.

Whitbread booked heavy write-downs, including £147m of goodwill from the soon-to-be-sold Pelican cafes chain. The group reported strong trading results for its core brands. Its restaurants, including star performer Pizza Hut, and the David Lloyd Leisure health clubs were beating 10% earnings growth targets.

Whitbread reported an underlying 7.6% rise in full-year profits to £187m. Pre-tax profits fell to £213.4m from £334.4m a year earlier before exceptionals. Overall group sales were £2.17bn against £3.1bn. The total dividend is 17.8p.