Premier Inn owner drags Footsie down

London’s top flight finished the day in negative territory, as a poor showing from hotels group Whitbread dragged on the index.

The FTSE 100 closed the day down 36.89 points at 7,403.77.

Whitbread closed at the foot of the index, shedding 294p to close at 4,460p as investors took a dim view of the firm’s annual figures.

In its first set of full-year figures since last year’s £3 billion sale of the Costa Coffee chain to Coca-cola, Premier Inn owner Whitbread said pre-tax profits tumbled 39 per cent to £260 million with the boost from the deal stripped out.

Elsewhere on the blue-chip index, BP shares closed higher even as the energy giant saw profits slide in the first quarter after it was hammered by falling oil and gas prices.

The oil major said replacement cost profit – the market’s preferred measure – fell to $2.1 billion (£1.6bn) in the first quarter, dropping 12 per cent year-on-year.

But the profits were slightly ahead of analyst forecasts due to strong trading across both oil and gas, sending shares 6.5p higher to 559p.

Meanwhile, shareholders in Hammerson delivered a bruising blow to the shopping centre group, which owns Aberdeen’s Union Square, as they vented their anger over excessive executive pay.

Nearly 30 per cent rejected its remuneration report at its annual meeting. It followed investor advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommendation that the pay report be voted down because of concerns over stock awards and bonuses worth millions dished out to top executives, including boss David Atkins.