When Sachem Head, the American hedge fund, declared a 3.4 per cent stake in Whitbread before Christmas and hinted that it would be pressing for a break-up, the only surprise was that it had taken so long for an activist investor to stick its head above the parapet. For many years, the group’s ownership of Premier Inn hotels and Costa coffee shops had looked like an anomaly, but so long as its share price was riding high and trading was good, it was easy to kick the demerger football into the long grass. Not any more.
It is unfortunate for Alison Brittain, the FTSE 100 leisure group’s chief executive, that the fall in the share price has coincided with her involvement with the 275-year-old company.