Whitbread H1 2027 Earnings Results & Report

Whitbread EPS Results

• Actual EPS: GBX 125.10
• Consensus EPS: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Whitbread Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: N/A
• Expected Revenue: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Whitbread (LON:WTB) is the owner of Premier Inn, the UK’s biggest hotel brand, with 86,000 rooms in over 850 hotels and a growing presence in Germany with 10,500 rooms in 59 hotels, offering quality accommodation at affordable prices in great locations. People are at the heart of our business. We employ over 38,000 team members in over 900 Premier Inn hotels across the UK and Germany.

Whitbread H1 2027 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Strong trading momentum: U.K. accommodation sales rose 3% with a nearly £8 RevPAR premium versus the market, while Germany delivered 18% accommodation sales growth and outperformed a declining market.
• Positive Sentiment: Cost control supported profitability: £39 million of efficiencies helped offset inflation and higher U.K. business rates, lifting group EBITDAR 1% to £608 million and ROCE to 10.9%.
• Positive Sentiment: The Accelerating Growth Plan is progressing rapidly. Whitbread has closed all remaining branded restaurants, sold more than 170 related sites, and remains on track to add 750 extension rooms this year; the plan is expected to generate £100 million of incremental profit by 2031.
• Positive Sentiment: Management maintained its outlook and expects £450 million–£500 million of property disposals this year, £2 billion of cash flow available for shareholders by FY2031, and net CapEx of only £200 million–£250 million annually under the revised plan.
• Negative Sentiment: The transformation is weighing on near-term results: earnings per share fell 6%, food-and-beverage revenue declined as restaurants were closed, adjusted items rose to £178 million, and lease-adjusted leverage increased to 3.4x, close to the 3.5x investment-grade threshold.

Presentation

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Good morning, everyone. I'm Dominic Paul, Group CEO, and I'd like to welcome you to Whitbread's 2027 interim results presentation. Today's presentation will take place by remote webcast, followed by a live Q&A session at 9:15 A.M. U.K. time, when Hemant Patel, our Group CFO, and I will be happy to answer your questions. Details of how to join the call can be found on our website. I'm going to start with a summary of the excellent progress we have made during the first half. I'll then hand over to Hemant, who will take you through our results in more detail. I'll then come back to explain why we are confident that our five-year plan will transform us into an even stronger, higher returning business. Let me remind you of the plan that we laid out in April.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Faced with significant external headwinds, we completed a forensic comprehensive business review that considered all options to maximize value for shareholders. The conclusion was that for our business, our integrated model is the right one, and with some improvements, it will maximize value creation. Those improvements are embedded within our new five-year plan that will deliver higher margins, cash flow, and returns, as highlighted on this slide. Our dynamic approach to capital allocation is key, ensuring that we will always deliver an attractive spread of return over our cost of capital. As part of our business and strategic review, we have reduced and reallocated capital spend to prioritize the highest returning opportunities by the Accelerating Growth Plan.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

That will see us replace lower returning branded restaurants with a more efficient integrated offering and higher returning extension rooms, further improving the experience for our guests and driving higher returns for our shareholders. Despite the upfront investment and impact on short-term earnings, it will drive a step change in margins and returns and complete our transition to a more efficient pure-play hotel business. At the same time, we are continuing to invest in our existing estate and technology to drive RevPAR and cost efficiencies. By recycling a proportion of our freehold property, we can fund all of our high returning growth investment, which will drive attractive returns for shareholders and significantly reduce our capital intensity.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

As I will come onto, we are highly disciplined in our execution, which is underpinning our strong operating performance, and we will generate GBP 2 billion of cash flow available for shareholders by FY 2031. Today, you're going to hear the following key messages from this presentation. We are trading strongly and have widened our outperformance versus the market in both the U.K. and Germany. This is a critical year for our Accelerating Growth Plan, and we are progressing rapidly with our transformation into a higher margin pure-play hotel business. We are executing at pace, delivering tangible results and increasing momentum across all areas of our business. As a result, we remain confident in the full-year outlook and the delivery of our five-year plan. Turning to our financial performance in the first half.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

In the U.K., we have delivered strong accommodation sales growth both in absolute terms and versus the mid-scale and economy market. In Germany, we delivered double-digit accommodation sales growth, which was well ahead of the wider market that was down versus last year. The strength of our model and continued focus on driving cost efficiencies meant that our U.K. cost base was in line with last year, despite industry-wide inflationary pressures, including the unexpected hike in business rates. This all meant that group EBITDAR was up 1% year-on-year, and return on capital employed increased by 60 basis points to 10.9%, reflecting our positive trading performance and the fact we have been exiting lower returning sites, including branded restaurants.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Whilst the shape of our plan meant that earnings per share declined by 6%, we are executing well and have declared an interim dividend in line with last year of 36.4 pence per share, reflecting our confidence that we are on track to deliver as planned. Finally, a few words on the excellent progress we have made in the first half against each element of our five-year plan. In response to the business rates increase, we have reduced and reallocated capital in the U.K. to the highest returning opportunities, and we are on track to open 1,000 new rooms this year. Our Accelerating Growth Plan is transforming our business. We are progressing rapidly with disposals ahead of plan and the closure of all remaining branded restaurants, which is a fantastic operational achievement. We also remain on track to open 750 new extension rooms this year.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

As I have mentioned, we are trading strongly in the U.K. and at the same time continuing to drive material cost efficiencies. We are also making great progress in Germany and remain on track to deliver a second year of profitability this year. Finally, on property and capital allocation, we assess and reassess every investment carefully to ensure we drive the highest returns. In line with our expectations, we have raised over GBP 50 million in property related disposals in the year to date, and we are on course to realize between GBP 450 million-GBP 500 million by the year end. In summary, we have got increasing momentum. We are trading strongly, and we look forward with confidence. I will now hand over to Hemant, who will take you through our first half performance in more detail.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

Thanks, Dominic, and good morning, everyone. I will start with a summary of the group's financial performance before covering the U.K. and Germany in a bit more detail. The group delivered another strong trading performance with positive growth versus the market in both the U.K. and Germany, mitigated by an expected reduction in U.K. food and beverage revenues as a result of the Accelerating Growth Plan. Overall, group revenues were up 2% year-on-year. The delivery of GBP 39 million of efficiencies and AGP-related reductions in our cost base helped offset significant inflationary pressures, including U.K. business rates. As a result, EBITDAR increased by 1% to GBP 608 million. Having returned GBP 102 million to shareholders, higher interest and lease costs meant that adjusted profit before tax was GBP 287 million.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

Adjusting items increased to GBP 178 million, the vast majority of which are non-cash and predominantly relate to the AGP and our decision to exit a number of lower returning sites as part of our five-year plan. As a result, statutory profit before tax was GBP 109 million. Gross CapEx reduced to GBP 280 million, and we received GBP 21 million from disposals in line with our expectations.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

You will have seen that since the period end, we have received further proceeds and remain confident in recycling GBP 450 million-GBP 500 million as planned this year. Group ROCE improved to 10.9%, reflecting the exit from lower returning branded restaurants, as well as fair value adjustments to assets held for sale. Our balance sheet remains strong, and whilst lease-adjusted leverage increased slightly to 3.4x, this reflects our investment in the AGP and remains within our investment grade threshold of 3.5x.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

I will now run through the drivers behind our performance, starting with the U.K. Accommodation sales increased by 3%, reflecting strong trading momentum and a progressive increase in our outperformance versus the market. The decline in food and beverage sales was as expected from the impact of AGP, with the result that statutory revenue was in line with last year. Operating costs were flat versus last year, which was an excellent result given the significant inflationary pressures we are seeing as an industry. The net result was that U.K. EBITDAR increased to GBP 588 million and adjusted profit before tax was GBP 313 million. Our exit from lower returning branded restaurants meant that U.K. ROCE increased to 13% versus just under 12% a year ago. Our U.K. business is trading well, and as will come onto, this has continued into the current trading period.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

Occupancy levels remained high at 81% for the half, stepping up in the second quarter, reflecting good demand over the summer months. The combination of our brand strength and best-in-class trading engine meant that we were able to increase average room rate by 2% to over GBP 87, resulting in a 2% increase in RevPAR and a 3% increase in accommodation sales to GBP 1.1 billion. We made excellent progress over the past few years and have extended our outperformance versus the market. In the half, we delivered a RevPAR premium of nearly GBP 8, up from GBP 2 pre-pandemic, whilst growing our market share. This demonstrates the power of our vertically integrated model, the strength of our brand, and the impact of our best-in-class commercial program. Together, these are giving us real edge in generating sustained outperformance versus the market and increasing our market share. Now on to Germany.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

We have had another strong trading performance in Germany. Our opening of 10 hotels together with the increased maturity of our estate helped to drive accommodation sales that were up by 18%. In line with our previous guidance, we are expecting GBP 10 million of one-off impacts this year relating primarily to the conversion of recently acquired hotels. Despite the majority of this impact falling in the first half, EBITDAR still increased by 10%. The resulting adjusted loss before tax was in line with expectations, and we remain on track to more than offset this loss in half two to deliver our second consecutive year of profitability in FY 2027. As Dominic will come onto, we have got good momentum, and we are confident in being able to deliver a further step-up in performance into FY 2028 in line with our previous guidance.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

As for German trading performance, whilst the market has picked up in more recent periods, it was down year-on-year in the first half. We opened 1,800 rooms in the period, so it was pleasing that our RevPAR growth remained in line with last year and 1% ahead of the market. Our cohort of 17 more established hotels delivered 2% RevPAR growth in local currency, ahead of both our total estate and the wider market, reinforcing the point that these hotels are not yet mature and giving us real confidence that their performance can and will grow further. Now on to group cash flow. The power of our vertically integrated model meant that despite inflationary pressures, we delivered adjusted operating cash flow of GBP 389 million. Gross CapEx was GBP 280 million.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

Whilst the phasing of disposals meant that proceeds were lower than last year, we're seeing good levels of interest and remain on track to realize GBP 450 million-GBP 500 million by the end of the year. Having returned GBP 102 million to shareholders, we maintain a strong balance sheet with net debt of GBP 663 million and lease-adjusted leverage of 3.4x in line with our expectations.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

Now just a brief word on current trading. We've seen a step-up in trading during the first five weeks of the third quarter in both the U.K. and Germany. In the U.K., accommodation sales were up over 4% and RevPAR growth was up by 3% versus last year, and we continue to outperform the market on both metrics, delivering a healthy RevPAR premium. F&B sales were down in line with our expectations, reflecting the closure of all remaining branded restaurants in September.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

In Germany, total accommodation sales and total estate RevPAR were also up strongly and well ahead of the wider market. Whilst comparatives become more challenging in the second half, this strong trading momentum and our positive forward book position give us real confidence in the full-year outlook. Turning now to capital allocation. Our disciplined and dynamic approach to capital allocation is central to our strategy. With an ever-changing environment, it is really important that we remain dynamic and adapt our plans so that we continue to deliver attractive returns across all of our capital programs. At the core of our framework, and over the life of the five-year plan, we're committed to maintaining our investment-grade credit rating and keeping lease-adjusted leverage at or below 3.5x. This drives significant commercial and financial benefits for the group.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

As outlined in April, we materially reduced growth CapEx versus our previous plan and will fund growth CapEx over the five-year plan by recycling more of our freeholds into attractive, high-returning opportunities. Following the step-up in business rates, we've increased our hurdle rates for growth investment and are targeting incremental returns of at least 15%, thereby ensuring a healthy spread over our weighted average cost of capital. By continuing to manage our non-expansionary CapEx carefully, we ensure that we both protect and extend our market-leading position. Our policy is to grow dividends in line with earnings. However, given our confidence in delivering the plan, we've declared an interim dividend of 36.4 pence, in line with last year.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

We also have a clear track record of returning capital to shareholders via buybacks when appropriate and expect to generate GBP 2 billion of free cash flow available for shareholder returns by FY 2031. This slide highlights our expected growth investment and non-expansionary CapEx over the five-year plan. Having reviewed every pound of spend in the business, we are committing growth capital to areas that are targeted to drive highly attractive returns for shareholders. First, the Accelerating Growth Plan, which is our highest returning opportunity, with returns on capital employed at least 15%-20%. Second, we are focused on ensuring that our new room growth in the U.K. will deliver return on capital employed of at least 15%. This is not growth for its own sake, but a refined and refocused plan to reflect current conditions.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

I have confidence in our reduced and reprioritized U.K. growth program because the pipeline is predominantly focused on low market share areas in London and the Southeast, and our last four years of openings are already delivering 13.5% returns, despite not yet being at full maturity. Third, having reduced our pipeline and refocused on proven formats, the new rooms we plan to open in Germany will deliver returns on capital employed of at least 15%. Each of these areas will deliver a healthy margin over our WACC and funding costs, helping to increase margins, cash flow, and returns. By funding this growth capital through the recycling of GBP 1.5 billion of property at attractive cap rates and reinvesting in higher returning projects like the AGP, we are unlocking significant value for shareholders.

[Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread]

As I have already mentioned, by continuing to invest in our physical estate as well as technology, we will continue to drive RevPAR as well as cost efficiencies. By reducing total net CapEx to GBP 200 million-GBP 250 million per annum, down from GBP 500 million per annum previously, we will ensure that more of our operating cash flow is available for shareholder returns. With that, I will now hand back to Dominic, who will update you on the excellent progress we are making across each element of our five-year plan.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Thank you, Hemant. As I mentioned earlier, back in April, we announced the outcome of our comprehensive business and strategic review and the steps we are taking to offset significant external headwinds and drive a compelling increase in margins, cash flow, and returns. I just want to spend a few moments reminding you of the key conclusions and outcomes of the review. The key driver for the review was that we had been hit by GBP 160 million of incremental costs following the hike in employment costs and an increase in business rates. To give you a sense of the materiality, together these two factors were equivalent to 1/3 of our FY 2025 profit before tax. Our business review was forensic and was led by the board with extensive advice from three of the world's leading investment banks.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

We considered the short-term and long-term implications, as well as the feasibility of making any fundamental change to our business. At every stage, we remained clear about the primary objective, which is to maximize total shareholder returns over the medium and longer term. With a clear set of objectives, the review reassessed all of our CapEx plans, re-examined all areas of our cost base to identify where we might improve margins, considered all potential options for Germany, including an exit, quantified the benefits and risks of alternative business models, and considered a range of alternative capital structures to see if additional value could be released. Our conclusions and key actions are summarized on the next slide. First, having looked at all alternative models, the vertically integrated model delivers the highest medium and long-term value creation and maximizes return for shareholders.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

We do recognize that different models can work at different stages of maturity, but for our business, an integrated model maximizes value creation, and with some material changes, we can deliver higher returns. Second, in response to a higher cost environment, we have raised our hurdle rates and reduced and reallocated CapEx to the highest returning opportunities, including the Accelerating Growth Plan. As a result, we have rationalized our portfolio by removing current and future assets that no longer meet our increased hurdle rates. Third, we considered a broad range of strategic options for Germany, but none of them were attractive given the scale of potential we see for our business there. With fundamental changes to our approach, we are at an inflection point and have a clear plan to accelerate cash flow and returns.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Finally, a strong asset-backed balance sheet is a source of competitive advantage, and therefore central to us driving value from our vertically integrated model. However, we can continue to maintain these advantages, but with less freehold property than we do today. By recycling more of our assets into higher returning projects, we can and will create additional value for shareholders. These actions are embedded within a five-year plan with clear targets for FY 2031, as outlined on this slide. We have made great progress against each of these elements in the first half, and I will now take you through each of these in more detail. Starting with the progress we are making to extend our market-leading position in the U.K. Supply backdrop remains favorable. There was limited new supply and the structural decline of the independents continues.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

With lower levels of new hotel construction, our analysis shows that we expect hotel room supply to remain well below pre-pandemic levels until at least 2028. I should also add that our analysis does not yet reflect the impact of business rates, and so could prove to be conservative. Having rationalized our pipeline to ensure that we continue to generate a healthy spread of returns above our WACC, we are focused on the highest returning opportunities that will support like-for-like sales, reduce capital intensity, and deliver returns of over 15%. The chart on the left shows the makeup of our committed pipeline. As you can see, it is heavily weighted towards large sites in London, a significant number of which will be hub hotels. But as I will come onto, are performing strongly and generating high returns.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

On the right-hand side is a case study of our Paddington catchment, where our sites that are not yet mature are already generating double-digit returns and are expected to deliver over 15% return on capital employed at maturity. We are really excited about our hub brand. It is achieving high levels of occupancy that, together with its efficient operating model, are driving attractive returns in prime city center locations. A focused commercial plan is accelerating our performance, driving strong RevPAR growth and market outperformance in both London and Edinburgh. By FY 2031, we expect to have 5,000 rooms open and revenues of over GBP 200 million, with further profitable growth potential thereafter. Turning now to our Accelerating Growth Plan, one of the most significant and transformational parts of our five-year plan that will further improve the experience for our guests and drive higher returns for our shareholders.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Having extended the original Accelerating Growth Plan to include all remaining branded restaurants, this will simplify our supply chain, increase the consistency of our F&B offer, and add highly profitable extension rooms, which is our most efficient way to deliver high returning growth. The plan will deliver GBP 100 million of incremental profit by February 2031. With expected returns of between 15%-20%, it is clear why the Accelerating Growth Plan is our number one priority in terms of capital allocation. This is a critical year for the Accelerating Growth Plan, and we have made excellent progress in transitioning affected sites. In September, we closed all remaining branded restaurants and switched over to our more tailored F&B menu with no guest disruption, meaning that we have removed all 430 branded restaurants over the past 24 months, which is a fantastic operational achievement.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

At the same time, we are well ahead of our planned disposals. We have sold over 170 branded restaurants and have received credible offers for the majority of the remaining sites. This leaves only 21 sites that are still being marketed out of a total of the 240 that we started with, and we are confident in exiting these as planned. We are also adding new extension rooms with planning applications and construction underway. With around 850 of these rooms already open, we are on track to have 1/3 of all planned extension rooms open by the end of this financial year. Finally, on the right-hand side of the slide, you can see that our completed sites are performing strongly with a clear uplift in accommodation sales versus pre-AGP. Our guest scores have also increased, reflecting the appeal of the new integrated F&B format.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Turning now to our commercial program. We are the clear market leader in the U.K. The combination of our key commercial initiatives and high quality, great value proposition is underpinning our increased outperformance. I will now spend a few minutes talking about initiatives driving our performance and how we plan to unlock even more value. We have market-leading brand awareness of over 90%, and our new media campaign is driving increases in both consideration and purchase intent. By optimizing our business-to-business proposition, we are driving increased revenues, capturing incremental international demand through the selective use of online travel agents. In parallel, we continue to enhance each stage of the customer journey, providing guests with a more seamless experience and at the same time driving commercial and operational benefits.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Our proprietary trading engine is a key strategic advantage for us, optimizing pricing at scale to maximize revenues. It is contributing to our market outperformance. What really excites us is the prospect that we can go even further. Through the use of AI, we will be able to make faster, more granular decisions that will drive growth in room and ancillary revenues. Early results of several technology-related tools are positive and will unlock significant potential for revenue growth. Whilst we cannot predict market RevPAR growth, we are confident that through these initiatives, we can drive positive sales momentum and outperform the market. Turning now to our highly successful efficiency program. Having delivered GBP 39 million of savings in the first half, we remain on track to deliver GBP 60 million of savings in financial year 2027.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Over the life of our five-year plan, we will deliver a cumulative GBP 250 million of savings. Technology is a key enabler, unlocking further operational savings across our hotels and support center. We are introducing more real-time and automation tools in housekeeping to increase labor efficiency, and with more AI-driven decision-making, we will further automate tasks for our teams. Now, on to Germany. We spent some time back in April explaining how we had fundamentally changed our approach in Germany. Drawing upon our experience and with several hotels already delivering double-digit returns, we are clear on what works and what doesn't work. By focusing on proven formats, optimizing our estate, and reducing capital spend with future expansion through new leaseholds, or the recycling of existing freehold, we will maximize returns. On the right-hand side of this slide, we have set out our plan trajectory to FY 2031.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

We expect to become cash flow positive in FY 2029, with our total estate delivering 13%-15% return on capital employed by financial year 2031. Beyond this, total estate returns will continue to increase, creating significant value for the group. Having reassessed our portfolio to focus on proven formats, we have reduced our committed pipeline materially since the year end. We opened nearly 1,800 rooms in the first half, and the performance of these room openings is giving us real confidence that the changes we have made to our strategy are working. By segmenting the estate into smaller cohorts based on year of opening, you can see that this year's openings are delivering higher RevPAR versus the market, and more quickly than previous cohorts.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Having transformed our commercial strategy over the past few years, we are continuing to grow brand awareness and enhance the customer journey with improvements to our app and the launch of digital keys. We are also driving incremental demand by broadening our distribution. We are confident we can continue to drive further RevPAR growth and outperform the wider market in Germany. Hemant has already taken you through our capital allocation framework, but I wanted to spend a few moments reminding you of our property strategy. There are significant commercial and financial benefits from our flexible property approach that are listed on the left-hand side of the slide. We segment our estate into five distinct categories depending on the hotel asset's maturity. As a site moves through to further development or yield potential, we look to recycle the asset and reinvest the proceeds to drive even higher returns.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

As the Accelerating Growth Plan completes, the pool of sites available for recycling will naturally increase. Hemant talked about earlier, freehold recycling is an important enabler of our plans, and we expect to recycle GBP 1.5 billion of property by FY 2031 through a combination of disposals and sale and leasebacks. Having already completed sale and leasebacks at attractive cap rates over the last 12 months, we are seeing good levels of interest and are confident in recycling GBP 450 million-GBP 500 million of property this financial year. Whilst the group will continue to own a substantial amount of freehold, the execution of our plan will reduce the proportion held from around 50% of sites today to around 40% by FY 2031. We will still therefore own a significant amount of property and continue to benefit from all of the advantages of freehold ownership.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

By funding our growth capital through the recycling of GBP 1.5 billion of property and reinvesting in higher returning projects like the Accelerating Growth Plan, we are unlocking significant value for shareholders. I am now going to close with a brief summary. What you have heard today is a set of very clear messages. Our comprehensive business and strategic review considered all options to maximize value for shareholders. We have materially adapted our CapEx plans based on higher hurdle rates, and we have a compelling and deliverable plan to drive significant returns. We are executing that plan at pace, and are making excellent strategic progress. Our disciplined execution is driving our strong operating performance, and we are focusing on delivering our five-year plan. As you know, Corvex is asking shareholders for a board seat.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

Despite myself, Hemant, and our chair having had a significant number of meetings with them over the past 18 months, Corvex has not been explicit regarding any plan to drive medium and long-term value for shareholders. Our board believes unanimously that the Corvex nominee will bring no additional or complementary skills or relevant experience that would add value to the workings of the board. Corvex's agenda will significantly distract us from delivering our plan, and we believe these distractions will be to the detriment of shareholders. We have therefore today written to shareholders with more details and recommending them to vote against the resolution proposing the election of the Corvex nominee to the Whitbread board. Thank you for joining us this morning. Hemant and I will host a Q&A session starting at 9:15 A.M. U.K. time, and we look forward to taking your questions then.

[Dominic Paul, CEO at Whitbread]

You will be able to find the details of how to join the call on our website.

Participants

Executives

• Dominic Paul, CEO
• Hemant Patel, CFO