It was easy to view the £1bn rights issue announced by the Premier Inn owner Whitbread in May as an emergency measure rushed out in extreme conditions.
Easy, because all the signs pointed towards a bleak future. During the first seven weeks of lockdown, revenues from the FTSE 100 stalwart’s hotels, pubs and restaurants plunged by 99%. The company said it would struggle to make any profit this financial year and put 27,000 workers on furlough.
Yet chief executive Alison Brittain hinted that this rights issue was “a little different” from others being pushed through by desperate company bosses staring into the Covid-19 abyss. Yes, the cash would be used to shore up finances while the hotels were closed, but it would also form a