Premier Inn sales slip in UK despite boost from Oasis gigs

Premier Inn’s owner has reported lower earnings and sales in the UK despite Oasis concerts and summer events boosting demand for hotel stays.

Hospitality group Whitbread said it had shaved millions of pounds off of its cost base this year in a bid to mitigate higher labour costs and food inflation.

The company reported a 3% decline in revenues for Premier Inn UK to £1.4 billion for the first half of its financial year, compared with the same period a year ago.

Across the group, which incorporates its hotels in Germany and other brands including restaurant chain Beefeater, pre-tax profits fell by 7% to £287 million year-on-year.

However, Whitbread said demand had improved in more recent months, boosted by a strong events calendar in July and August and warmer weather, especially in London.

This was particularly the case during Oasis’s reunion gigs at London’s Wembley Stadium, with the concerns leading to higher demand for hospitality and hotel rooms among hordes of fans.

Whitbread, which operated 846 Premier Inn hotels in the UK at the end of August, is in the midst of a turnaround plan to revamp its restaurant business and expand its hotel rooms.

It revealed it made £43 million worth of cost savings over the first half of the year, and is targeting £250 million by the 2030 financial year.

The savings helped mitigate cost pressures including the higher national living wage, national insurance contributions, and rising food and drink inflation, according to the business.

It also flagged some uncertainty about the upcoming autumn Budget in the UK, when the Government will set out its tax and spending plans for the year.

But the company expects to have opened 500 new hotel rooms in the UK by the end of the year amid significant growth plans.