Whitbread looks to sell off underperforming pub sites

Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn hotels, is looking to sell or convert around a third of its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pubs, according to reports.

The FTSE 100 company hired advisors to explore options to sell part of its 400-strong food and beverage arm last year after it underperformed compared to its hotel business.

Sources told The Times Whitbread entered talks to sell to a US buyout fund, but the deal collapsed after the pair failed to agree on a price.

Now Whitbread has reportedly instructed Christie & Co to put between 30 and 50 of its worst-performing sites on the market.

Many of Whitbread's pub-restaurants are located next door to Premier Inn hotels but have struggled with a lack of demand.

Whitbread chief executive Dominic Paul wrote in the company's 2022/23 annual report that despite a rise in hotel guests its restaurants were trading 4% below pre-pandemic levels.

At the same time, sales across Whitbread's 840 UK Premier Inn hotels were 37% up on 2019/20.

A further 100 pubs next to Premier Inn hotels could reportedly be converted into extra room stock.

The move comes amid an apparent shift in focus at Whitbread away from food and beverage brands to focus on its hotel business. In January, Whitbread sold its stake in healthy café brand Pure after nine years and said the group was "not a core part" of its strategy.

Whitbread operates over 840 Premier Inn hotels in the UK and is behind restaurant brands including Thyme bar and grill and Bar + Block.

Whitbread has been contacted for comment.