Whitbread PLC, the UK hotel company and owner of the Premier Inn brand, is in the midst of expansion, particularly in the UK and Germany. As part of this growth strategy, the company has recently decided to refocus on its core business, hospitality, by selling off some of its restaurant operations.

Expansion in the UK

The recent opening of a new Premier Inn hotel in the Lion Yard of Cambridge exemplifies this momentum. Located above a shopping center, this 125-room hotel marks Premier Inn's first presence in the center of Cambridge.

The hotel features standard and Premier Plus rooms, along with an integrated restaurant. Construction began in March 2023, and access is via a dedicated entrance on Guild Hall Street, close to the main shopping thoroughfare of Pretty Cury. This project has also created 31 permanent jobs, reinforcing Whitbread’s commitment to local employment and training for new hires.

Nationwide, Whitbread now operates over 85,500 Premier Inn rooms and aims to reach a total of 125,000 rooms in the UK in the long term. The chain has seen high occupancy rates, achieving 81.5% in London and 83.5% in regional areas.

"The main contractor demonstrated great professionalism in delivering the project in just over a year, transforming former commercial offices into a 125-room Premier Inn hotel that will bring significant economic benefits to the city." - Stuart Howard, senior development director at abrdn

Growth in Germany

Premier Inn is experiencing strong growth in Germany, with a 22% increase in room nights. In its semi-annual results for the 2025 financial year, Whitbread highlighted that while revenue in the UK remained stable, Premier Inn in Germany showed impressive progress.

"We are really excited about our advancements in Germany. Our business developments during the first half of the year and the increasing maturity of our hotels and the Premier Inn brand mean we will soon reach profitability on an operational basis. With our long-term plan to become the leading hotel brand in the country, we are on track. We want to replicate our success in the UK market in Germany." -  Dominic Paul, CEO of Whitbread

Currently, Premier Inn operates 60 hotels in Germany and plans to open 400 new rooms by the end of the financial year, bringing the total to 10,500 rooms. The group has a pipeline of approximately 7,000 additional rooms in development. Long-term, Whitbread aims to position itself as the top hotel operator in Germany, targeting 20,000 rooms by 2030, with an adjusted net profit before tax of £70 million.

Refocusing on Hospitality

To support this expansion, Whitbread recently sold 51 branded restaurants for £56 million, part of a broader strategy to convert restaurants into hotel rooms. The company plans to convert 112 restaurants into 3,500 hotel rooms while exiting 126 sites.

Simon Ewins, CEO of Whitbread, noted that some restaurants had become a "distraction," prompting this refocus on hospitality. Consequently, planning applications have been submitted to convert over a third of these establishments, with construction already underway to enable the opening of new rooms by the end of 2026. By reducing its reliance on restaurant operations, Whitbread aims to capitalize on its leading position in the hotel market.

The restaurants involved, operating under brands such as Bar + Block, Brewers Fayre, and Beefeater, will be replaced by integrated food and beverage offerings. However, it is worth noting that total food and beverage sales decreased by 7% during this period, primarily due to this reorganization.

The group clarified :

"The majority of our hotels, including those served by one of our 387 existing integrated restaurants or our remaining portfolio of 196 higher-yield branded restaurants, continue to operate normally."