Whitbread is all set to commence a phased withdrawal from Premier Inn operations in India and South East Asia. The move is part of plans to focus Premier Inn’s international growth strategy on a smaller number of specific markets where the company says it “can generate good long term sustainable returns and where there is the greatest long term opportunity to build scale”.
Premier Inn will now focus its international strategy on continuing to grow its businesses in Germany and in the Middle East.
Expansion plans for Premier Inn in the UK remain unaltered, and Costa’s UK and International growth plans have not been affected the shift in focus.
Alison Brittain, CEO said, “In April I laid out a three-point plan to build a bigger and better Whitbread. I reiterated the strong growth prospects for Whitbread in the UK, where we have laid out bold milestones for Premier Inn and Costa and confirmed that Whitbread also has an exciting future beyond the UK. A key strategic theme is to focus on our strengths internationally and that means identifying those opportunities to invest our capital and management time wisely to generate the best and most sustainable returns. To build a successful future for Premier Inn overseas, we must focus on those markets where we can grow scale and where our brand proposition is most compelling for our customers.”
