Whitbread Hotel Company yesterday announced a substantial jump in profits, proving its decision to sell out of the Marriot brand earlier this year was a prudent one.

In the six months to 1 September the owner of the Premier Travel Inn budget hotel brand, made a pre-tax profit of £62.2m compared with a loss of £5.8m the previous year.

The Whitbread subsidiary agreed the sale of its 46 franchised Marriott hotels to a joint venture with franchisor Marriott International at the beginning of the year. It hopes to ventually dispose of its remaining related property assets.

On the 4 March 2005 it acquired 100% of the Premier Travel Inn business for £1.4b, completing the hotel subsidiary’s transformation.

Whitbread Group announced in October that it would be slashing a quarter of its head office jobs in a bid to streamline the business.

Whitbread to axe jobs in a bid to streamline company >> 

By Chris Druce

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