Whitbread has sold 38 branded restaurants for a total consideration of £38m, as it continues with its Accelerating Growth Plan.
The operator of brands such as Beefeater, Brewer’s Fayre and Bar + Block is working to optimise the delivery of F&B at around 200 of its sites, converting a number of lower-returning branded restaurants into more efficient, integrated offer, and exiting around 100 branded sites, as it looks to ‘unlock’ 3,500 extension rooms for its Premier Inn business.
Whitbread said it remained confident of exiting the remaining sites over the next 12 months as planned.
The update came as part of the group’s preliminary results announcement for the 52 weeks to 27 February 2025.
UK F&B sales fell by 11%, in line with expectations, with the rate of decline partially mitigated by strong breakfast sales.
In the seven weeks to 17 April 2025, post the year end, UK F&B sales were 16% behind FY25.
Group statutory revenue was down 1% to £2.92bn, compared to £2.96bn the prior year, reflecting lower food and beverage revenues as a result of its Accelerating Growth Plan, and softer UK market demand. This was mitigated by strong growth in Germany.
Adjusted profit before tax was £483m, with statutory profit before tax of £368m and after tax of £254m.
The business said for every 1% change in F&B sales versus FY25, there is a £2.5m impact on profit before tax.
It is expecting a further reduction of between £75m and £90m in total F&B sales as the remaining branded restaurants affected by the plan are repurposed or exited.
The business said its five-year plan was on track to deliver incremental adjusted profit before tax of at least £300m by FY30.
Dominic Paul, chief executive, Whitbread, said: “Having laid the foundations for significant growth, we are executing at pace and making excellent progress on our strategic initiatives, against what has been a softer market backdrop over the past year.
“By focusing on what we can control, our Five-Year Plan is on track to deliver a step-change in our profits, margins and returns and we remain positive about the medium-term outlook.”
