Whitbread Reports H1 Revenue Decline as Group Reshapes F&B Strategy
Whitbread PLC has announced first-half revenues of £1.57 billion for the 26 weeks ending 28 August 2025, representing a 2% decline on the corresponding period, as the hospitality giant navigates a subdued accommodation market whilst undertaking significant changes to its food and beverage operations.
The FTSE 100-listed company, which operates the Premier Inn hotel chain, recorded adjusted profit after tax of £217 million for the period, marginally below previous year figures.
The group’s flagship Premier Inn UK business delivered sales broadly comparable with 2024 levels, despite what management characterised as a weaker opening quarter. Revenue per available room slipped 1%, with occupancy holding steady at 81% whilst the average room rate climbed to £85.95.
Performance varied markedly by geography. Within the capital, robust leisure demand combined with a favourable events calendar drove accommodation sales growth of 1.2%, with average rates advancing 0.6%. The company highlighted particularly strong trading during the Oasis reunion concerts at Wembley Stadium, where sophisticated revenue management systems enabled the business to exceed market benchmarks for both occupancy and revpar.
Beyond London, the picture proved more challenging. Whilst average room rates rose 2.3% year-on-year, occupancy softened marginally to 81.1%, contributing to a 1% reduction in total accommodation revenues for provincial locations.
The most significant movement came within food and beverage operations, where total UK sales contracted 11%. Management attributed this decline to an ongoing strategic repositioning programme that has seen the disposal of certain outlets and transformation of others.
Whitbread has withdrawn approximately 200 third-party branded restaurant partnerships described as “lower-returning”, replacing them with proprietary integrated food and beverage concepts across its estate.
The company currently operates 826 Premier Inn properties across the United Kingdom, encompassing 85,682 rooms—equivalent to a 12% share of the nation’s total hotel room inventory.
Looking ahead, Whitbread has expanded its development pipeline by 25% to 7,800 rooms, with nearly 2,205 of these designated for its compact ‘hub by Premier Inn’ format, signalling confidence in the brand extension’s growth trajectory.
Chief executive Dominic Paul commented:
“In the UK, with a return to market growth, we sustained our outperformance versus the market through the strength of our guest proposition and commercial programme.
“We are making strong progress on our Accelerating Growth Plan which, together with our committed pipeline of both Premier Inn and ‘hub by Premier Inn’ rooms, means we remain on track to reach at least 98,000 open rooms by FY30, extending our position as the clear market leader.”
Julie Palmer, Partner at Begbies Traynor, said:
“Whitbread’s first half performance is underwhelming, with revenue and profits slipping below last year’s levels despite a favourable summer and the enduring appeal of its value-led Premier Inn brand. While the hotelier has made headway on cost efficiencies, a seemingly sensible move ahead of a potentially inflationary Budget and possibly shoved its results ahead of analyst expectations, yet these gains have largely been swallowed by rising costs rather than boosting the bottom line.
“There is impressive ambition in the five-year plan to turbocharge Premier Inn’s growth while exiting weaker food and beverage sites. Indeed, targeting 98,000 rooms by FY30 certainly sounds encouraging if they can make it work, but consumer confidence is still in the doldrums so the real test will be turning bold vision into tangible momentum. Investors may have to hold their breath a little longer until Whitbread can find the next gear and shift back into growth mode.”.