Premier Inn owner to cut 3,800 jobs in savings plan

The owner of Premier Inn is to cut 3,800 jobs in the UK and Ireland as part of a five-year plan to save £250m and overhaul its restaurants.

Whitbread, based in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, also said it would change the way its serves food and cut £1bn from its capital building programme.

Restaurants at 197 hotels will be replaced by an "integrated food and drink model", which the company said would be more efficient and was preferred by guests.

Chief executive Dominic Paul said increased costs in the form of business rates and national insurance meant changes were needed at the UK's biggest hotel chain.

"We've looked hard at the options open to us to maximise value creation over the medium and long-term," he said.

This has been a rigorous process and we've approached all options with an open mind.

"Our new five-year plan builds on our strengths and drives a significant acceleration of our strategy."

Whitbread, which employs 30,000 people, said the plans were subject to a staff consultation and it expected to retain a significant proportion of those affected through redeployment.

It comes after the business reported a pre-tax profit of £298m for the year to 26 February, which was 19% lower than the year before.

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