Whitbread plots hotels expansion after sale

Whitbread is planning a major expansion of its hotels business after agreeing the £3.9bn sale of Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola.

the Premier inn owner’s first financial results since it announced the sale showed profits totalled £277m in the six months to august 30, unchanged from a year earlier.

Pending regulatory approval of the takeover, Whitbread said it will focus efforts on its hotels business with the launch of 33 sites across 15 German cities by 2021.

it has also launched a low- cost chain in the UK called Zip with rooms starting from £19. the first will open in Cardiff next year with another in Southampton in the pipeline.

but it warned demand for its hotel rooms could suffer as consumers were more cautious with money.

revenues climbed 2.6pc to £1.07bn during the period but revenue per hotel room declined by 0.9pc.

Chief executive alison brittain said the company ‘remains on track with our plans for the current year’.

UPMarKet hotel group hilton has launched a backpackers chain called Motto. the first will be in Marylebone in west London.