Whitbread Share Discussion Threads

[bountyhunter] 26/10/2021 19:08

Header updated with Interims.

[spacecake] 26/10/2021 13:46

I see the AGM remuneration vote got a special mention, they have had a chat with some large investors about the excessive remuneration apparently.

2021 Annual General Meeting

At the Annual General Meeting on 17 June 2021, 64.25% of votes were cast in favour of the resolution to approve the 2020/21 Remuneration Report. We engaged closely with a number of our large investors in the lead up to that vote and also subsequently, and we believe we have a good understanding of investor sentiment regarding the votes cast against. We will continue to engage constructively with investors on this topic throughout the rest of the year.

[charlotte2020] 26/10/2021 11:44

I agree with that. Sitting duck

[philanderer] 26/10/2021 11:43

'Premier Inn owner Whitbread warns of staff shortages as demand recovers'

[porsche1945] 26/10/2021 11:33

These will suffer over the winter, I have called it pretty much bang on with whitbread, its a poorly managed company and these will see 26 over the next few months as covid bites, a buy next spring when less risk and may get a bounce, The epic fail that is brexit starting to hit them tho, trouble hiring, input costs ( wage rises and lunatic levels of U.K. taxation ), parabolic energy costs settled in USD with weak sterling…..tbh they are a trade but not an investment, like rest of dog index of the world ftse 100. And before anyone comes back with a load of defensive drivel these are the same price as they were in 2013, over 8 years ago, and they dont pay a dividend, hardly a blue chip capital return.

[vermilion1966] 26/10/2021 11:17

And a Brexit bonus for employees too!

hxxps://order-order.com/2021/10/26/premier-inn-attributes-rising-wages-to-brexit/

[philanderer] 26/10/2021 11:11

Whitbread could attract bid interest, says Peel Hunt


Whitbread (WTB) is ‘investing through the pain’ which Peel Hunt says could attract the interest of private equity.

Analyst Ivor Jones reiterated his ‘buy’ recommendation and target price of £36 on the owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain, whose share price was up 1.1%, or 34p, at £31.55 on Monday.

‘Whitbread is taking advantage of its strong balance sheet and investing in growth,’ he said.

The group has been refurbishing hotels, added Premier Plus rooms, and continued its expansion in Germany.

‘The long-term value creation is clear and that, plus the asset-backing, could attract private equity interest,’ said Jones.

‘Despite possible short-term challenges from Covid-19 trading disruption, we reiterate our “buy” recommendation.’

Jones said the fly in the ointment could come from rising energy prices, which management is likely to ‘express caution’ around, but he remains ‘positive in relation to the long-term’.

[philanderer] 26/10/2021 10:42

Happy to hold :-)

[bountyhunter] 26/10/2021 08:28

-- The Group retains a strong balance sheet and liquidity position with a cash inflow before debt repayments of GBP106.7m in the half, reflecting the improved trading performance compared to the same period last year. Net cash at the end of H1 was GBP60.2m

Outlook

-- Sales recovery is ahead of expectations, and while a number of uncertainties remain, UK like-for-like RevPAR run rate has the potential to reach full recovery at some point in 2022

-- Confident on the return to pre-pandemic UK profit margins, however we will have to wait to assess speed of recovery once we have greater visibility of longer-term inflation and supply chain pressures

Driving long-term value

-- In the UK, we will continue to grow by leveraging the powerful competitive advantages of our scale, brand, direct distribution, best-in-class operating model, and broad customer reach

-- In Germany, we are expanding at pace, investing in both organic and inorganic growth, and building the Premier Inn brand proposition as we establish a nationwide footprint

-- Whitbread is well-placed to take advantage of the likely accelerated supply contraction in the market and constrained investment amongst independent and budget branded operators in the UK and Germany

-- Our strategy is underpinned by our well-established Force for Good programme, delivering ambitious commitments to operate responsibly and sustainably, and reflecting the positive impact we can make for our employees, customers, suppliers, investors, communities and the environment

[commuter10] 26/10/2021 08:26

Great Stuff! Onwards & Upwards hopefully now.

[bountyhunter] 26/10/2021 07:49

Interims out this morning.

Recovery ahead of expectations and outperforming the market.

Says it all.

As some of us here expected 🙂

[bountyhunter] 23/10/2021 09:54

Plan B in the end I think but that may improve confidence in hospitality? Premier Inn's are good with Covid measures so could work in their favour although their may be less business bookings short term. What we really need to see is rates going down not up imo.

[philanderer] 23/10/2021 00:31

Back in the news - covid numbers rising hitting leisure. Plan B ?

[philanderer] 22/10/2021 11:07

WTB interims next tuesday.

[philanderer] 22/10/2021 10:41

Read across from IHG numbers

[bountyhunter] 20/10/2021 18:22

No common sense, it took more than an hour for the PM's puppet to say sfa!

[philanderer] 20/10/2021 13:28

Most probably this today...


"Covid: Bring back rules amid rising cases, urge NHS chiefs"


Some Covid restrictions must immediately be reintroduced if England is to avoid "stumbling into a winter crisis", health leaders have warned.

The NHS Confederation said a back-up strategy, or Plan B, which includes mandatory face coverings in crowded and enclosed spaces, should be implemented.

UK cases have been rising sharply but deaths are well below the winter peak.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said it was not time for Plan B yet and urged greater uptake of booster jabs.

[bountyhunter] 16/10/2021 19:16

And it did, the Director buys in the header are now all in the money.

[bountyhunter] 15/10/2021 09:10

That should do it!

[bountyhunter] 14/10/2021 20:12

That's the way it's heading and that's why the directors have been topping up. Only another 30p up and all the director buys in the header will be in the money.

Premier Inn is a brand people trust which stands to do well as we gradually emerge from this pandemic.

[netcurtains] 14/10/2021 08:15

There does seem to be some slight signs that this stock is in recovery mode.

[philanderer] 06/10/2021 10:11

So no covid recovery then, plus a couple of interest rate rises in the next 12 months.

WTB top ftse100 faller today.

[bountyhunter] 03/10/2021 21:14

Interesting, more than the current market cap, so might prove to be an appealing prospect re sale & leaseback for private equity? Morrisons own 90% of their stores which has been touted as what made them such an attractive target.

[netcurtains] 03/10/2021 20:35

I think Whitbread has about £8b of assets - I guess mainly freehold property.

[bountyhunter] 03/10/2021 17:38

I think that is a distinct possibility having disposed of Costa while the price is at this level with things finally looking up.
What % of their hotels do Whitbread own, i.e. that could be potentially sold by a private equity bidder and leased back? The other possibility would be a competitor such as IHG wishing to get rid of some of their competition and extend their empire in one foul swoop!