UK – Hotel and restaurant conglomerate Whitebread Company has accepted offers for 51 of its restaurants across the UK for a total of £56 million (US$72.72 million).
Whitebread did not reveal the restaurant locations and brands that have received the offers.
According to the company, the move is part of its strategy to offload 126 restaurants and repurpose 112 others into hotel rooms, which aligns with its Accelerating Growth Plan (AGP).
The AGP strategy was unveiled in March 2024. The company revealed plans to divest the 126 restaurant locations a few weeks later, which is expected to result in the loss of 1,500 jobs.
The strategy aims to optimize the company’s food and beverage wing offer to meet guest expectations better. Planning applications for more than a third of the proposed 3,500 hotel room extensions have already been submitted as part of this strategy.
A few weeks after the AGP strategy was announced, Whitebread revealed it withdrew from its 49% investment in the healthy café brand Pure, of which it had been part since 2016, to focus on its core hotel business.
The company said in a statement, “We have accepted offers on 51 sites for a total consideration of £56m, with construction already underway to build an integrated F&B offer at a number of these sites and with the first sites expected to complete before the end of the financial year.”
“Working with our advisers, we remain confident in being able to exit the remaining sites over the next 18 months.”
The company reiterated its interim results for the 2024/2025 financial year reflect the progress of the AGP strategy.
The hospitality conglomerate reported a 7% decrease in sales in its food and beverage wing in the 26 weeks leading up to 29 September 2024, which Whitebread revealed it anticipated because of the restructuring.
However, the company reported stronger performance in its integrated restaurants due to higher hotel occupancy levels.
Whitebread owns and operates Premier Inn and a host of other food and beverage sites across the UK like Brewers Fayre and Beefeater.
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