Sale & Leaseback

RNS Number : 6849E

Whitbread PLC

24 December 2009

 



Thursday 24 December 2009 
   

WHITBREAD AGREES £36 MILLION 
SALE & LEASEBACK 
 

Whitbread, the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group, announces today that it has exchanged agreements with M&G Investments for the sale and leaseback of five properties operating as Premier Inn and adjacent restaurants.

On completion, which is expected in January 2010, M&G Investments will pay £36.65 million in cash for the properties and enter into 25 year leases with Whitbread, who will continue to operate the properties. This represents a net initial yield of around 5.5%.

Whitbread remains committed to having a predominantly freehold asset base, while selectively using its property as an alternative source of funding for its pipeline of new developments.

  
-ends- 
 

For more information please contact:

Investor Relations

Christopher Rogers, Whitbread PLC              [phone]

Press Contacts

Tabitha Aldrich-Smith, Whitbread PLC          [phone]

David Allchurch, Tulchan                             [phone]

For photographs and video please visit our media library on www.whitbreadimages.co.uk

Notes to Editors

Whitbread PLC is the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group operating market-leading businesses in the budget hotels and restaurant sectors.  Its well-loved brands are Premier Inn, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Taybarns and Costa Coffee.

Whitbread PLC employs over 33,000 people and serves 9 million customers every month in its 1,900 outlets across the UK.

In the financial year ended 27th August 2009, Whitbread PLC reported a 3.1% increase in Group Revenue to £703.3 million and Underlying Profit before tax of £118.2 million down 2.7%.

Whitbread PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is also a member of the FTSE4Good Index.

About Premier Inn: 

Award winning Premier Inn, is the UK's biggest and fastest-growing hotel brand with 584 budget hotels and more than 40,000 rooms across the UK.  Rooms are available from just £29. Premier Inn bedrooms feature an en-suite bathroom, TV, and internet access for business guests. Premier Inn offers customers a 'Good Night Guarantee' of a good quality room, comfortable surroundings and friendly service, which is unique amongst Britain's leading hotel chains.   

Premier Inn was the first Britain-wide hotel group to sign up with national tourist board VisitBritain; this means Premier Inn is now part of a new quality assessment scheme, specially created for budget accommodation. 
 
In 2008 Premier Inn launched in Dubai and opens in India this month. On a domestic front, Premier Inn is set to be the largest provider of budget hotels in London by the 2012 Olympics. 

 

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