One must probably add Whitbread to the list of shares that will bounce if we vote tomorrow to stay in the EU. The shares have been volatile of late amid fears over the London hotel market, while the main engine of growth, the Costa coffee chain, was showing some signs of slowing down at the end of the last financial year, perhaps affected by the mild weather and lower footfall on the high street.
The first-quarter figures were something of a relief. In headline terms, Premier Inn grew by 8 per cent, helped by new room openings — about 3,600 in the final quarter of last year to the end of February and a further 4,000 to 4,500 expected in this financial year.
Revenue per