Premier Inn shrugs off calls to put itself up for sale

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An activist investor is pushing for the owner of Premier Inn to put itself up for sale. Known for its chain of affordable hotels, Premier Inn helped its holding company, Whitbread, to a pre-tax profit of £298m for the year to February. But this was 19% lower than the previous year and shares in Whitbread have slid over the past few months. Corvex, a US hedge fund with a 7% stake in the company, has called for a “comprehensive sale process” to maximise shareholder value. Whitbread has brushed this off and plans to go ahead with cutting jobs, shutting down its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants, and offloading some of its freehold properties. There are more than 800 Premier Inn locations across the UK.