“They got five on it”: catching up on Whitbread’s new business strategy and five-year plan

Chair: Tim Burke, editor Speaker: Derek Griffin, head of acquisitions, Whitbread Premier Inn provides 12% of the UK’s hotel accommodation stock – the highest of any hotel operator in any market in the world. This extraordinary success has been delivered through a continual 20-year expansion programme underpinned by a unique business model and flexible property requirements. This April, the company unveiled a new business strategy and five-year plan focused on the continued expansion of Premier Inn, but with greater emphasis on recycling capital from the company’s largely freehold estate to fund future bedroom expansion. Greater emphasis is also being placed on leasehold opportunities to drive estate growth. During UKREiIF, Derek Griffin, Whitbread’s acquisition head, sat down with Tim Burke to discuss the principles of the new business strategy including how the company plans to go about recycling £1.5bn of property, where it is focusing its new growth, and the future for its popular hub by Premier Inn brand.