Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 13, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleWhitbread's shares rise on increased sales and lower tax impact, despite concerns over business rates affecting future investments.
Jan 13 (Reuters) - Whitbread on Tuesday reported higher third-quarter sales, driven by strong demand and firm pricing at its Premier Inn hotels in Britain and Germany, sending its shares up as much as 7% in early trade.
The hotel operator also cut its expected hit from business rate hikes announced in Britain's autumn budget to about 35 million pounds ($47 million) from an earlier estimate of 40 million-50 million pounds, but warned the proposed changes remained a threat to hospitality firms' prospects.
"We continue to believe the proposed changes to business rates are damaging for the overall sector and will impact future investment and job creation and we ... continue to press the UK Government for changes," CEO Dominic Paul said in a statement.
Whitbread, which is under pressure from activist investor Corvex to consider a strategic review, has been exploring ways to boost margins and returns, but gave no further details.
Shares of Britain's largest hotel operator were up 4% at 2,688 pence at 0845 GMT. They have fallen about 6% in the last 12 months.
"In the short term, this was a strong result," Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke wrote, but said key questions remain - including the long-term impact of business rate changes, adjustments to Whitbread's five-year plan, and its response to activist pressure.
Whitbread, which is revamping underperforming restaurants under its growth plan, said UK accommodation sales and revenue per available room - a key industry metric - were both up 4%, while sales in Germany rose 11% in the six weeks to January 8.
Third-quarter group sales rose 2% to 781 million pounds, and Whitbread raised its cost-savings target for fiscal 2026 to 75 million-80 million pounds from 65 million-70 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7427 pounds)
(Reporting by Rishab Shaju and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru. Editing by Sumana Nandy and Mark Potter)
A business rate is a tax on non-domestic properties, which helps local councils fund services. It is calculated based on the property's value and is typically paid by businesses occupying the property.
Fiscal year 2027 refers to the financial year that runs from April 2026 to March 2027 in the UK. It is used for budgeting and financial reporting purposes.
Business rate hikes are increases in the tax rates applied to non-domestic properties. These hikes can significantly impact businesses' operating costs and financial planning.
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