Whitbread's Premier Inn sales rise in Q3 but RevPAR drops in London
Whitbread continued to see sales rise across its hotel, restaurant and cafe businesses, with total sales up 14.4% in the third quarter of 2012, and like-for-like sales up 3.3%.
The group's budget hotel brand Premier Inn saw total sales climb 12.6% in the 13 weeks to 29 November 2012, with like-for-like sales growth of 2.5%. It increased its total room nights sold by 9.6% to 10.5 million.
In the London market, for the third quarter, Premier Inn's total RevPAR declined by 0.9% although Whitbread said this compared with a decline of 1.9% for the total market and a drop in the mid-scale and economy sector of 11.4%. During the year, Premier Inn has increased capacity by 22% in London.
Total sales in the group's restaurants division, which includes brands such as Beefeater, Brewes Fayre and Table Table, recorded total sales growth of 4.1% and like-for-like sales growth of 1.9%.
Meanwhile cafe chain Costa continued its rapid expansion, with total sales growth up 25.5%, and like-for-like sales up 7.1%.
Andy Harrison, chief executive of Whitbread said: "Whitbread continued its strong growth momentum with total sales up 14.4% together with good like for like sales growth of 3.3%. This once again demonstrates the strength of our brands.
"During the third quarter, Premier Inn continued to outperform its competitive set with total sales growth of 12.6% and like for like sales growth of 2.5%. Over the same period, Premier Inn delivered total revpar growth of 0.7% compared with a decline of 0.6% for the total UK hotel market and a decline of 5.4% for the Mid-scale and Economy sector."
