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Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn Hotels, has drafted in advisers to sell around a third of its worst performing Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pubs, according to reports.
In 2023 the FTSE 100 company instructed advisors to explore options for selling a part of its 400-strong food and beverage arm. This decision came after the segment underperformed in comparison to its hotel business.
Sources informed The Times that Whitbread entered negotiations to sell to a US buyout fund. However, the deal fell through as the two parties failed to come to an agreement on the price.
Whitbread has now, according to reports, tasked properly and business sales advisors Christie & Co with putting between 30 and 50 of its poorest-performing sites on the market.
Furthermore, “a further 100 pubs and restaurants are expected to be converted into extra hotel rooms for Premier Inns, also part of Whitbread”.
According to Whitbread’s website, there are in excess of 83,000 Premier Inn hotel rooms in the UK, with an additional 7,000 “in committed pipeline”.
The decision reflects an apparent change of focus at Whitbread, moving away from food and beverage brands to prioritise its hotel business. Earlier this year Whitbread sold is stake in the healthy café brand Pure after nine years, stating that the group was ‘not a core part’ of its strategy.
