The owner of the Premier Inn brand, Whitbread, revealed in a trading update on Wednesday that it is cautious of the impacts of Brexit on market conditions.
The British multinational hotel and restaurant company said that weaker business and leisure confidence has continued, coinciding with continuous political and economic uncertainty in the UK.
The uncertainty surrounding Brexit has had an impact on domestic hotel demand, particularly in the regional business market, where most Premier Inn hotels are located, Whitbread added.
This weaker demand has caused Premier Inn’s UK total accommodation sales to drop by 1.5% for the first quarter.
The company, which sold Costa to Coca Cola, added that though it is difficult to predict how business confidence and business investment will evolve over the next year, it continues to closely observe the impacts this will have on the market.
“Our expansion into Germany is firmly on target. Our new hotel opening in Hamburg is performing above our expectations and our hotel in Frankfurt continues to perform well. We will open another two organic sites during this financial year and complete the first tranche of the 19-hotel Foremost Hospitality acquisition, with 13 being rebranded to Premier Inn in the first half of next year,” Alison Brittain, Chief Executive of Whitbread plc, commented.
“Whilst we are cautious about short-term market conditions, we are confident in our plans given the significant growth opportunities in the UK and internationally,” the Chief Executive continued.
“Given our strong balance sheet, efficiency programme and robust business model, we are in a strong position and we will continue to invest in order to maintain Premier Inn’s competitive advantages and to capitalise on our structural growth opportunities.”
In addition to its update concerning market conditions, the company also said that it expects to add between 3,000 to 3,500 rooms in the UK and over 2,000 in Germany.
As of 09:49 Wednesday, shares in Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) were trading -0.8% lower.