A takeover approach would be the fast route for Whitbread investors to bag a better return, but there’s also a more studied path to push the stock higher. Take more share of the UK hotel market; hit pay-dirt in Germany and return more surplus cash to shareholders. That is ground that the Premier Inn owner can cover in less than three years.
Exploiting the acute imbalance between demand, which has ricocheted post-pandemic, and restricted supply, has sent rates for Premier Inn’s UK rooms a way ahead of the pre-pandemic level. Together with an increase in occupancy, that pushed revenue per available room last year to £59.45, from £46.91 the year before Covid emptied hotels.
The spoils from the vast UK estate easily offset wider pre-tax
