Premier Inn owner reveals plan for further UK expansion

Premier Inn is set to add another 3,500 rooms to its UK portfolio of hotels in the budget brand’s next stage of expansion.

Parent company Whitbread said it wanted to “unlock” these extra rooms by converting space at 112 of its existing Brewers Fayre and Beefeater restaurants, which will lead to the potential loss of 1,500 jobs at the group. This move would increase Premier Inn’s total rooms to 97,000 across the UK within the next four years.

The company made the announcement as it revealed a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue to £2.96 billion for the year ending on 29 February. Net profit was also up by 12 per cent from £279 million in 2023 to £312 million this year.

This performance was powered by Premier Inn’s UK growth with sales up by 12 per cent and revpar (revenue per available room) rising by 10 per cent compared with the previous year. In Germany, sales shot up by 62 per cent year-on-year due to Premier Inn’s expansion in the market.

In the next year, the brand expects to add between 750 and 1,250 rooms in the UK and around 400 additional rooms in Germany.

Whitbread said in an update to investors that “midweek demand has been robust” for Premier Inn hotels in March and April, with a “positive step-up in demand” expected in the next few weeks.

Dominic Paul, Whitbread’s CEO, called the annual results “outstanding” with this performance being led by the “strength of our UK hotels business”.

“We plan to optimise our food and beverage offer at a number of our sites to unlock up to 3,500 room extensions that will enhance the service for our hotel guests and deliver increased operational efficiencies,” he added.

“In Germany, we are encouraged by our progress to date and the opportunities we now have to both build our brand awareness and refine our trading strategies further.”