Whitbread employees set gain from ‘sharesave' scheme

More than 850 Whitbread employees stand to benefit from the leisure giant's annual "sharesave" scheme, which matured this week.

The Whitbread share price was trading at £16.35 as of yesterday, which means profit of nearly £4m should the members of the scheme choose to exercise their options.

The five-year options will return nearly four times the option price and three year option will return more than double the option price.

Claire King, a waitress at the Ham and Blackbird Beefeater in Farnborough, who saved the maximum amount of £250 per month for five years, stands to make a profit of £62,700 when she cashes in her options.

Alan Parker, chief executive of Whitbread, said: "It's fantastic news that Whitbread people, who work so hard to provide the best possible service to our customers, have this chance to personally share in the company's success.

"We are really pleased that so many employees took advantage of the sharesave scheme as it's a great and safe way to save and we hope even more people take advantage of it in the future."

Whitbread's share price has consistently risen over the past 12 months, driven by strong performance of its Premier Travel Inn and Costa Coffee brands, and persistent speculation in the City of a takeover deal.

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By Daniel Thomas

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