There was never a worse time to go all-in on the travel industry. Whitbread’s 2019 sale of the café chain Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola left it reliant on guests staying at the Premier Inn, but replacing hollowed-out revenues has made the shares a prime recovery trade.
Free from lockdown and “work from home” advice, leisure and business demand has returned, resulting in revenue more than double the same period last year and a narrowing in the pre-tax loss to £19 million from £725 million, markedly ahead of market forecasts. That’s despite weaker bookings from business travellers and overseas guests, who have typically accounted for around 10 per cent of the total. Revenue per room is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels this year, faster than
