Whitbread PLC (LON:WTB) has announced its interim results.
Strong accommodation sales growth and market outperformance in both the UK&I and Germany
Confident in full year outlook and increasing strategic momentum as we execute our Five-Year Plan
Throughout this release, all percentage growth comparisons are made by comparing the current period performance (H1 FY27) for the 26 weeks to 27 August 2026 with H1 FY26 (26 weeks to 28 August 2025).
Commenting on today’s results, Dominic Paul, Whitbread Chief Executive, said:
“Whitbread is a business with increasing strategic momentum and, having announced the outcome of our comprehensive business and strategic review in April, we are executing our Five-Year Plan at pace, building on the unrivalled strength of the Premier Inn brand to deliver increased returns for shareholders.
“In the UK and Ireland, we are extending our market outperformance with accommodation sales up 3% versus last year and positive RevPAR growth for the fifth consecutive quarter. Our commercial programme and technology-led enhancements are contributing to positive like-for-like sales momentum that, together with the delivery of material cost efficiencies, is helping to mitigate the impact of cost inflation. Whilst our plan assumes no change in future years, we are continuing to press the UK Government to protect jobs and investment by reducing the previously announced increases in business rates in its forthcoming Budget.
“As part of our business and strategic review, our dynamic approach to capital allocation has reduced growth capex by £1bn and reprioritised our highest returning opportunities. This included the extension of our Accelerating Growth Plan, that will deliver a great experience for guests and double-digit returns for shareholders. This is a critical year for the delivery of the plan, and we are progressing rapidly, with all branded restaurants now replaced by a more tailored F&B offering for hotel guests and planning applications already underway. Having agreed the sale of 173 sites and with offers already received for the majority of remaining sites, we are on track to deliver as planned.
“In Germany, we delivered double-digit accommodation sales growth supported by the opening of nearly 1,800 new rooms and have continued to outperform the wider market. We remain on course to deliver a second year of profitability in FY27 and thereafter accelerate our financial performance.
“With excellent strategic progress and strong current trading momentum, our plan is working. Against this positive backdrop, the Board strongly recommends that all shareholders vote against the resolution proposed by Corvex at the forthcoming shareholder meeting.
“We are executing well and remain confident in both the full year outlook and the delivery of our Five-Year Plan that will generate £2bn available for shareholder returns by FY31.”
H1 FY27 Group Financial Summary
| £m | H1 FY27 | H1 FY26 | vs H1 FY26 | |||
| Statutory revenue | 1,572 | 1,541 | 2% | |||
| Adjusted EBITDAR† | 608 | 601 | 1% | |||
| Adjusted profit before tax† | 287 | 316 | (9)% | |||
| Adjusting items before tax | (178) | (28) | >(100)% | |||
| Statutory profit before tax | 109 | 287 | (62)% | |||
| Statutory profit after tax | 62 | 217 | (72)% | |||
| Adjusted basic EPS† | 125.1p | 133.7p | (6)% | |||
| Statutory basic EPS | 36.8p | 123.7p | (70)% | |||
| Dividend per share | 36.4p | 36.4p | – | |||
| Group ROCE† | 10.9% | 10.3% | 60bps | |||
| Net debt† | (663) | (563) | (100) | |||
| Lease-adjusted leverage† | 3.4x | 3.2x | n/a | |||
Overview:
| H1 FY27 results: adjusted profit before tax (‘PBT’) of £287m reflects a strong trading performance in the UK and Ireland (‘UK&I’) and Germany, offset by temporary transition costs associated with our extended Accelerating Growth Plan (‘AGP’), high cost inflation (including business rates) and in-year impacts in Germany, predominantly associated with new room openings, all of which were in line with our previous guidance; statutory profit before tax was £109m, after £178m of adjusting items driven primarily by non-cash impairment charges associated with the Group’s strategic review and the AGP |
| FY27 current trading1 and outlook: strong trading momentum has continued with total UK&I accommodation sales up 4.5% and total Germany accommodation sales up 31.2%; whilst visibility remains limited, our positive forward booked position and progress to date mean we remain confident in the full year outlook |
| We are executing at pace against our Five-Year Plan to become an even stronger, more profitable and less capital intensive business, delivering a +500bps increase in Group ROCE2 and £2bn available for shareholders2 by FY31. Key highlights from the first half include: |
| o UK&I Network expansion: we opened 369 new rooms and closed 438 rooms in the period as we optimise our estate to drive higher returns; we remain on course to open c.1,000 gross new rooms this year; o Extended Accelerating Growth Plan (‘AGP’): our transformation to a higher returning, pure-play hotel business is progressing rapidly with all remaining 197 branded restaurants closed in September 2026 and planning applications already underway; we opened 211 extension rooms in the period and remain on course to open c.750 new extension rooms this year; we have also agreed the sale of 173 sites with offers received for the majority of remaining affected sites; o Strong commercial programme: our positive trading momentum and increased market outperformance is being supported by our brand strength and the deployment of several initiatives: broadening our marketing and distribution including the use of artificial intelligence (‘AI’); enhancing the guest experience through each stage of the customer journey; optimising our best-in-class pricing model to drive further RevPAR growth; and unlocking the potential of ‘hub by Premier Inn’ with dedicated trading strategies; o Efficiencies: we delivered £39m of savings in H1 FY27 and remain on course to reach £60m of savings for the full year, helping to mitigate ongoing inflation; o Germany: we continued to outperform the market and with the opening of 1,771 new rooms, delivered double-digit accommodation sales growth; we remain on track to deliver a second consecutive year of profitability in FY27; and o Capital allocation and property: we received £53m of property-related proceeds in the year to date3 and with a number of transactions expected in the second half, we remain on course to recycle £450m – £500m and maintain net capex between £200m – £300m this year; our dynamic approach to capital allocation ensures we continue to maximise returns through the cycle; having increased our hurdle rates and reassessed all of our capital programmes as part of our review, we are targeting at least 15% return on capital employed on all growth capex across the UK and Germany. |
| The Board has declared an interim dividend of 36.4p per share (H1 FY26: 36.4p) reflecting our confidence in the outlook and our Five-Year Plan |
1: STR data, standard basis, 28 August 2026 to 1 October 2026, UK and Germany M&E markets excluding Premier Inn
2: Versus FY26, assuming UK like-for-like sales† and cost efficiencies offset non-business rates inflation and finance costs over the life of the Five-Year Plan
3: Property-related proceeds received including £32m after the balance sheet date, of which £17m related to sale and leasebacks
Financial highlights:
• Premier Inn UK&I: total accommodation sales and RevPAR increased by 3% and 2% respectively; the strength of our brand and technology-led commercial programme meant we outperformed the midscale and economy (‘M&E’) market1 by 2pp on RevPAR growth and increased our RevPAR premium to £7.75
• UK&I food and beverage (‘F&B’) sales were in line with our expectations and fell 9% due to the ongoing impact of the AGP, partially offset by continued positive performance from our integrated restaurants, with the result that UK&I statutory revenue was in line with last year
• UK&I segment adjusted pre-tax profit margins† were 22.0% (H1 FY26: 23.4%), reflecting a strong trading performance and despite high cost inflation, operating costs were in line with last year, offset by increased lease and interest costs
• Premier Inn Germany: total sales grew by 19% in local currency, and we continued to outperform the M&E market2; with continued estate growth and in-year impacts, predominantly related to new openings, segment adjusted loss before tax† was in line with our expectations at £8m (H1 FY26: £3m loss)
• Group: statutory revenue was up 2% and despite significant cost headwinds, the strength of our vertically integrated model meant that adjusted EBITDAR† increased to £608m (H1 FY26: £601m)
• Group: adjusted profit before tax† was £287m (H1 FY26: £316m) and statutory profit before tax was £109m (H1 FY26: £287m) after charging £178m of adjusting items (H1 FY26: £28m) driven primarily by non-cash impairment charges associated with the Group’s strategic review and the AGP
• Strong balance sheet: lease adjusted leverage†3 was 3.4x (H1 FY26: 3.2x) and net debt† was £663m (H1 FY26: £563m) reflecting continued investment in the AGP and the phasing of planned property-related disposals
1: STR data, standard basis, 27 February 2026 to 27 August 2026, UK M&E market excluding Premier Inn
2: STR data, standard basis, 27 February 2026 to 27 August 2026, Germany M&E market excluding Premier Inn
3: Aligned to Fitch definition and methodology
Segment highlights
Premier Inn UK&I
| £m | H1 FY27 | H1 FY26 | vs H1 FY26 | |
| Statutory revenue | 1,422 | 1,416 | 0% | |
| Total accommodation sales | 1,119 | 1,085 | 3% | |
| Segment adjusted profit before tax† | 313 | 331 | (6)% | |
| Revenue per available room† | £70.93 | £69.48 | 2% |
Premier Inn Germany1
| £m | H1 FY27 | H1 FY26 | vs H1 FY26 | |
| Statutory revenue | 150 | 125 | 20% | |
| Total accommodation sales | 125 | 106 | 18% | |
| Segment adjusted loss before tax† | (8) | (3) | >(100)% | |
| Revenue per available room† | £53.56 | £52.90 | 1% |
1: Using monthly exchange rates, resulting in an effective GBP:EUR exchange rate of 1.16
Current trading1
• Premier Inn UK&I
• Trading during the first five weeks has remained strong, with total accommodation sales and RevPAR up 4.5% and 3.2% respectively.
• We continued to outperform the M&E market2 with accommodation sales and RevPAR growth +1pp ahead
• F&B: sales were down 37%, in line with our expectations, reflecting the impact of the AGP including the closure of all 197 branded restaurants in September 2026, which are now operating a more tailored, integrated F&B offering for hotel guests only
• Premier Inn Germany
• Total accommodation sales were up 31.2% in local currency, with the positive impact of estate growth, a good events calendar and continued maturity of our hotels, and we continued to significantly outperform the market3
• Total estate RevPAR was up 9.5% to €83 and RevPAR for our cohort of 17 more established hotels4 was up 10.6% to €94, both ahead of the wider market3
1: Five weeks to 1 October 2026
2: STR data, standard basis, 28 August 2026 to 1 October 2026, UK M&E market excluding Premier Inn
3: STR data, standard basis, 28 August 2026 to 1 October 2026, Germany M&E market excluding Premier Inn
4: Cohort of 17 more established German hotels that were open and trading under the Premier Inn brand for 12 consecutive months as at 4 March 2022
FY27 outlook
We are making excellent strategic progress and the strong trading momentum in both the UK and Germany is encouraging. Whilst visibility of market demand remains limited, our forward booked position is positive and our progress to date means we are on track and remain confident in the full year outlook.
Requisitioned general meeting
As detailed in a separate announcement, we have today written to all shareholders to notify them that a general meeting of the Company will be held on 9 November 2026. The general meeting has been requisitioned by Corvex Management LP to consider a resolution to appoint a new director, selected by Corvex, to the Whitbread Board. Further details regarding the general meeting, including the Board’s recommendation to vote against the resolution, are set out in the shareholder circular which will shortly be available to view on Whitbread’s website at www.whitbread.co.uk.
