LONDON – Whitbread PLC today announces that Anthony Habgood will step down from the Board later this year. Habgood has been Chairman of the Company since mid 2005. The process to find his successor will be led by Sir Ian Cheshire, the Senior Independent Director and a further announcement will be made in due course.
Anthony Habgood said:
“It has been a pleasure to be Chairman over a period of rapid growth as we have transformed Whitbread into a focused company and developed two market-leading brands, Premier Inn and Costa.
With the Company having a strong Board and a clear strategy for growth, I believe that this year is an appropriate time to hand over to a successor.”
About Whitbread PLC
Whitbread PLC is the owner of the UK’s favourite hotel chain, Premier Inn and the UK’s favourite coffee shop, Costa as well as restaurant brands, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns.
Whitbread PLC employs 43,000 people in over 2,000* outlets across the UK, with its well-loved brands making every day experiences special for over 22 million UK customers every month.
Whitbread has outlined growth milestones for 2016 and 2018. The 2018 milestones are to increase the number of Premier Inn UK rooms to around 75,000 and to double the size of Costa with global system sales of £2bn.
In the year ended 28 February 2013, Whitbread PLC reported a 14.2% increase in Group Revenue to £2,030 million and Underlying Profit before tax of £356.5 million up 11.4%.
Whitbread PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100. It is also a member of the FTSE4Good Index.
*excludes Costa Franchise stores and Costa Express
