Whitbread

Whitbread has appointed Mark Allan, with effect from 1 October 2026, as an independent, non-executive member of the board of directors; he will also join the audit and nomination committees. Allan is currently chief executive officer of Land Securities and was previously CEO at St. Modwen Properties as well as a long-serving CEO of the Unite Group; he began his career as an auditor at KPMG. At the same time, Whitbread announced the departure of Horst Baier effective 1 October 2026. » More on de.investing.com

Activist hedge fund Corvex, holder of about 7% economic interest, has demanded Whitbread be put up for sale and asked the board to suspend elements of its reset, including a planned £1.5bn sale-and-leaseback of hotels. Corvex warns it will nominate a new slate of directors if the board refuses. Whitbread argues the five-year plan aims to lift returns and free capital through transactions, while analysts have called the strategy sensible though slow to deliver. » More on theguardian.com

Whitbread operates 71 Premier Inn properties in Germany and has reported a positive pre-tax result for the first time; revenue rose 13 percent to £261 million. Over the next five years, beds are to grow from 13,000 to 18,000 and 13 more hotels will open this year. To finance this, Whitbread plans sale-and-leaseback transactions, and Premier Inn will roll out digital room keys nationwide later this year. » More on faz.net