The group said it will move away from brands including Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Whitbread Inns, replacing them with a fully integrated format within its hotels, a model it said has proved popular with guests.
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A Whitbread spokesperson said: “Whitbread has announced today that, as part of its proposed new Five-Year Plan, it intends to become a pure-play hotel business focused on Premier Inn, the UK’s number one hotel brand, which is synonymous with quality and value.
600 new rooms
“This change will involve exiting all of our remaining branded restaurants, which trade under brands including Beefeater and Brewers Fayre, a number of which will be converted into approximately 600 additional Premier Inn rooms, with the remainder expected to be sold as going concerns,” as Whitbread prioritises higher returning accommodation.
“The proposed changes announced today build on the success of our Accelerating Growth Plan, announced in 2024, which involved the conversion of over 200 branded restaurants to additional rooms, and the creation of an integrated restaurant in each hotel. This format has proved highly popular with guests and under the proposal, it would be rolled out to all hotels where there is currently a branded restaurant.
“We recognise the impact of this proposal on colleagues who work at the affected sites. As a business which recruits around 15,000 people every year, we expect to be able to retain a significant proportion of those affected and will be looking to redeploy as many of our impacted colleagues as possible.
3,800 roles lost
However, we do anticipate that the proposed changes, which are subject to consultation, would result in a reduction of around 3,800 roles of a total UK and Ireland workforce of around 30,000. We will do all we can to support those colleagues affected.”
The strategy builds on Whitbread’s five-year plan announced in April 2024, with the company now extending the rollout across its remaining restaurant estate following what it described as strong early performance.
The group said the move will support improved returns and a simpler operating model, as it continues to scale Premier Inn in the UK and Germany.
Whitbread also outlined plans to reduce net capital investment by more than £1bn, recycle £1.5bn through property disposals, and generate £2bn in free cash flow by FY31.
