This announcement contains inside information

 

UK accommodation sales up versus FY25; continued market outperformance

Premier Inn Germany achieves key profitability milestone

Extension of the Accelerating Growth Plan to include all remaining branded restaurants

Announcement of New Five-Year Plan

 

 

Throughout this release, all percentage growth comparisons are made by comparing the current period performance (FY26) for the 52 weeks to 26 February 2026 with FY25 (52 weeks to 27 February 2025).

 

FY26 Group Financial Summary

£m				FY26	FY25	vs FY25
Statutory revenue				2,920	2,922	0%
Adjusted EBITDAR†				1,074	1,030	4%
Adjusted profit before tax†				483	483	0%
Statutory profit before tax				298	368	(19)%
Statutory profit after tax				213	254	(16)%
Adjusted basic EPS†				208.5p	194.6p	7%
Statutory basic EPS				123.3p	141.5p	(13)%
Dividend per share				97.0p	97.0p	-
Group ROCE†				11.1%	11.3%	(20)bps
Net debt†				(709)	(483)	(226)
Lease-adjusted leverage†				3.3x	3.0x	n/a

 

Overview

·      The Group continued to outperform the midscale and economy ('M&E') market in both the UK and Germany on total accommodation sales and RevPAR growth1

·      Group statutory revenue was in line with last year, reflecting positive growth in UK and Germany accommodation sales, offset by the expected lower food and beverage ('F&B') revenues as a result of the Accelerating Growth Plan ('AGP')

·      Adjusted EBITDAR† was up 4%, despite significant external headwinds and reflects the benefits of our vertically integrated model, the strength of our brand and the impact of our technology-led commercial initiatives, highlighting the quality and resilience of our business

·      Adjusted profit before tax ('PBT')† of £483m (FY25: £483m) reflects a positive trading performance, accelerated cost efficiencies and a marked increase in German profitability, offset by high cost inflation and interest costs; adjusted basic EPS† was 208.5p (FY25: 194.6p)

·      Statutory profit before tax of £298m (FY25: £368m) was after charging £185m of adjusting items (FY25: £116m) that primarily related to £130m of impairment charges associated with the AGP, other non-cash and net impairment charges of £32m; statutory basic EPS was 123.3p (FY25: 141.5p)

·      During the year, the Group completed £313m of property-related disposals, including £282m of sale and leasebacks at an average net initial yield of 5.4%

·      The Group's previously announced £250m share buy-back completed on 25 February 2026, with a total of 8.8m shares purchased and subsequently cancelled

·      The Board is recommending a final dividend of 60.6p per share (FY25: 60.6p) making 97.0p for the year (FY25: 97.0p)

 

New Five-Year Plan

·      As set out in a separate announcement today, following the unexpected impact of business rates, a material increase in employment costs and the completion of a detailed business review, we have announced a New Five-Year Plan that will result in a material step up in margins and returns by FY31

·      The plan includes: a reallocation of capital to fund the proposed extension of the AGP2 to replace all remaining branded restaurants with a more efficient and tailored F&B offering for our guests; a reduced and refocused capital programme in the UK and Germany; an increase in cost savings; and a material reduction in the capital intensity of the business, including recycling more freehold property into growth projects

·      In FY27, the extension of the AGP to include all remaining 197 branded restaurants will reduce total F&B sales by £140m - £160m as we transition to our new integrated format and exit those sites marketed for sale. There will be a £40m reduction in profits as we transition the remaining branded restaurants, which will more than offset positive progress from our original AGP, resulting in a net £10m reduction to profits

 

1: STR data, standard basis, 28 February 2025 to 26 February 2026, UK and Germany M&E markets excluding Premier Inn

2: Proposal is subject to employee consultation

 

Financial highlights

•    Premier Inn UK: total accommodation sales and RevPAR both increased by 1%, reflecting a return to market growth from the second quarter; the strength of our brand and commercial programme meant we outperformed the M&E market¹ by +1pp on RevPAR growth and increased our RevPAR premium to £5.88

•    UK F&B sales fell 8%, which was slightly better than expected due to the timing of branded restaurant disposals

•    UK segment adjusted pre-tax profit margins^† were 18.8% (FY25: 18.8%), reflecting a strong trading performance, the expected reversal of FY25 one-off costs relating to the AGP, and accelerated cost efficiencies of £83m² (FY25: £75m), offset by higher than expected cost inflation

•    Premier Inn Germany: total sales grew by 13% and we strengthened our outperformance versus the M&E market³, driven by the growing maturity of our hotels and brand, as well as the positive impact of our commercial initiatives; segment adjusted PBT^† was £2m (FY25: £11m loss)

•    Group: adjusted EBITDAR^† increased to £1,074m (FY25: £1,030m)

•    Group: adjusted profit before tax^† was £483m (FY25: £483m) and statutory profit before tax was £298m (FY25: £368m) after charging £185m of adjusting items (FY25: £116m) including £130m of accelerated depreciation and impairments in relation to the AGP and other non-cash, net impairment charges of £32m

•    Total cash returned to shareholders via dividends and share buy-backs in FY26 was £419m (FY25: £442m). Since April 2023, the Group has returned a total of £1.6bn

•    Strong balance sheet: lease adjusted leverage^†4 of 3.3x (FY25: 3.0x) and net debt^† of £709m (FY25: £483m) reflecting lower cash balances following the completion of the £250m share buy-back

 

1: STR data, standard basis, 28 February 2025 to 26 February 2026, UK M&E market excluding Premier Inn

2: Total cost efficiencies delivered in FY26, after the removal of non-recurring structural savings

3: STR data, standard basis, 28 February 2025 to 26 February 2026, Germany M&E market excluding Premier Inn

4: Aligned to Fitch definition and methodology

 

Segment highlights

 

Premier Inn UK

£m				FY26	FY25	vs FY25
Statutory revenue				2,659	2,691	(1)%
Segment adjusted profit before tax†				499	507	(2)%
Revenue per available room†				£64.81	£64.42	1%

 

Premier Inn Germany¹

£m				FY26	FY25	vs FY25
Statutory revenue				261	231	13%
Segment adjusted profit / (loss) before tax†				2	(11)	>100%
Revenue per available room†				£54.19	£50.90	6%

 

1: Using a GBP:EUR exchange rate of 1.16

 

Current trading¹

•    Premier Inn UK

•     Total accommodation sales and RevPAR were up 1.9% and 0.9% respectively versus FY26, outperforming the market, with a particularly strong performance in London

•     Our forward booked position is ahead of last year, supported by peak leisure demand and a strong events calendar

•     F&B: sales were 4.2% lower than FY26, reflecting the exit from a number of lower-returning branded restaurants, mitigated by a positive performance from our integrated restaurants

•    Premier Inn Germany

•     Total accommodation sales up 9.0% in local currency versus FY26, with the positive impact of continued estate growth. The market has been impacted by a reduced events profile versus last year and increased occupancy levels were more than offset by lower room rates, resulting in total estate RevPAR of €60 and RevPAR for our cohort of 17 more established hotels² of €68

•     We continued to outperform the market on both accommodation sales and RevPAR growth

•     Our forward booked position is ahead of last year, and we are confident that we can drive further RevPAR growth

 

1: Eight weeks to 23 April 2026

2: Cohort of 17 more established German hotels that were open and trading under the Premier Inn brand for 12 consecutive months as at 4 March 2022

 

FY27 guidance

•    UK

•     Sales: every 1% change in like-for-like^† accommodation sales versus FY26 has a £16.5m - £17.5m impact on profit before tax; and every 1% change in total F&B sales¹ versus FY26 has a c.£1m impact on profit before tax

•     Inflation: gross inflation is expected to be at the top end of our previously guided range of 6.5% - 7.5% on our £1.7bn UK cost base; including the changes to business rates that will result in an impact of c.£35m; net inflation is expected to be at the top end of our previously guided range of 3% - 4% after cost efficiencies of £60m

•     New rooms: c.1,000 new rooms (of which 80% will be freehold) and c.750 AGP extension rooms with the majority of all new rooms opening in the second half of the year

•     Extension of the Accelerating Growth Plan, subject to employee consultation, to include all remaining 197 branded restaurants²:

o    Total F&B sales: reduction of between £140m and £160m as we transition to our new integrated format and exit those sites marketed for sale

o    Adjusted PBT^†: there will be a £40m reduction as we transition the remaining branded restaurants, which will more than offset positive progress from our original AGP, resulting in a net £10m reduction

•    Germany

•     New rooms: c.2,300

o    c.1,000 of organic room openings of which 30% will be leasehold

o    c.1,300 of new room openings, of which 100% will be leasehold, associated with recent additions to our portfolio

•     Adjusted PBT^†3: c.£10m increase versus FY26, before one-off costs of c.£10m primarily in relation to new openings in FY27 associated with recent additions to our portfolio

•    Central

•     Adjusted PBT^†: £5m reduction as a result of the impact of the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East on the hotels operated by our joint venture

•    Balance sheet

•     Net capex: £200m - £300m

•     Gross capex: £700m - £750m (including £200m - £250m relating to the extended AGP)

•     Proceeds from property transactions: £450m - £500m, including sale and leasebacks and disposals

 

1: F&B sales excluding sites impacted by the AGP for which separate guidance is provided

2: 197 sites to be converted, FY26 results: revenue £284m and adjusted loss before tax £(13)m, plus associated central overheads of £10m

3: Using a GBP: EUR exchange rate of 1.15

 

Outlook

Our forward booked position is ahead of last year and we continue to see positive trading momentum. While we have limited visibility of short-term market demand and inflation, including the potential impact of the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, our vertically integrated model means we have significant self-help levers to drive positive like-for-like^† sales momentum whilst also reducing our costs. By focusing on what we can control, we are confident that we will extend our market-leading position in the UK, accelerate returns in Germany and deliver long-term value creation for shareholders.

 

Commenting on today's results, Dominic Paul, Whitbread Chief Executive, said:

 

"In the UK, we made excellent progress on each of our strategic initiatives and Premier Inn again outperformed the wider market, supported by the strength of our customer offer and the benefits of our commercial programme.

 

"FY26 was a breakthrough year for Germany, delivering our first annual profit - a major milestone for the Group. The quality and value of our customer offer is driving high guest scores and our brand awareness continues to increase, underpinning our strong outperformance versus the rest of the market.

 

"I'd like to thank our colleagues across the Group for their hard work in delivering this performance. Against a challenging consumer and macroeconomic backdrop, we continue to deliver material cost savings and plan to drive more in FY27, while delivering a fantastic service for our guests.

 

"As set out in a separate announcement today, our New Five-Year Plan is a significant step for the Group. Whilst the proposed extension of the Accelerating Growth Plan will impact profits in FY27, our new plan will make our assets work harder while creating a stronger, higher-returning business that delivers for our guests, teams and shareholders.''

 

For more information please contact:

Investor Relations - Whitbread                                                                investorrelations@whitbread.com

Peter Reynolds, Director of Investor Relations                                              peter.reynolds@whitbread.com

Kirsten O'Reilly, Investor Relations Manager                                                   kirsten.oreilly@whitbread.com

Kitty Hobhouse, Investor Relations Manager                                                 kitty.hobhouse@whitbread.com

                                   

Media - Brunswick                                                                                  whitbread@brunswickgroup.com

Tim Danaher                                                                                                               +44 (0) 20 7404 5959

 

The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of the company is Clare Thomas, General Counsel and Company Secretary.

 

Presentation and webcast

For invited analysts and investors, the Group is hosting a Full Year 2026 Results presentation, including a briefing on our New Five-Year Plan at 10.00am BST today, 30 April 2026. A live webcast of the presentation and briefing will be available from 10.00am BST via www.whitbread.co.uk/investors. To pre-register for the webcast, please visit: https://whitbreadevent.connectid.cloud. A copy of the slides as well as a replay of the presentation and briefing will be available on our website later today.

 

^†Alternative performance measures

We use a range of measures to monitor the financial performance of the Group. These measures include both statutory measures in accordance with IFRS and alternative performance measures ('APMs') which are consistent with the way that the business performance is measured internally. We report adjusted measures because we believe they provide both management and investors with useful additional information about the financial performance of the Group's businesses.

 

Adjusted measures of profitability represent the equivalent IFRS measures adjusted for specific items that we consider relevant for comparison of the financial performance of the Group's businesses either from one period to another or with other similar businesses. APMs are not defined by IFRS and therefore may not be directly comparable with similarly titled measures reported by other companies. APMs should be considered in addition to, and are not intended to be a substitute for, or superior to, IFRS measures. Further information can be found in the glossary and reconciliation of APMs at the end of this document.

 

Chief Executive's Review

 

Group Results

 

The Group delivered a positive performance in FY26, outperforming the M&E market in both the UK and Germany on total accommodation sales and RevPAR growth¹. Group statutory revenue was flat year-on-year at £2,920m (FY25: £2,922m) reflecting a recovery in UK accommodation sales from the second quarter and positive momentum in Germany, offset by lower F&B revenues as a result of the AGP.

 

We have an excellent track record of responding to inflationary headwinds over time and in FY26 we delivered better than expected cost efficiencies of £83m² (FY25: £75m), mitigating significant cost pressures, including above inflationary increases in national living wage, national insurance and F&B costs. These savings, combined with the impact of our shift towards a more efficient F&B model as part of the AGP, resulted in a 2% reduction in adjusted operating costs, driving a 4% increase in adjusted EBITDAR to £1,074m (FY25: £1,030m). This performance was despite significant external headwinds and reflects the power of our vertically integrated model, the strength of our brand and the impact of our commercial initiatives, highlighting the quality and resilience of our business.

 

Net finance income (excluding lease liability interest) reduced to £11m (FY25: £20m) reflecting lower interest receivable on the Group's cash balances. Higher lease liabilities and rent reviews increased both lease interest and right of use asset depreciation to £177m (FY25: £167m) and £209m (FY25: £194m) respectively, resulting in adjusted profit before tax^† of £483m (FY25: £483m). Adjusting items totalled £185m (FY25: £116m), driven primarily by £130m of impairment charges associated with the AGP and other non-cash and net impairment charges of £32m, resulting in statutory profit before tax of £298m (FY25: £368m). A tax charge of £86m (FY25: £114m) meant that statutory profit after tax was £213m (FY25: £254m).

 

Adjusted basic earnings per share^† increased by 7% to 208.5p (FY25: 194.6p) reflecting the reduced weighted average number of shares following share buy-backs over the last twelve months. Statutory basic earnings per share decreased by 13% to 123.3p (FY25: 141.5p).

 

During the year, the Group completed £313m of property-related disposals, including £282m of sale and leasebacks at an average net initial yield of 5.4%.

 

Further detail on the drivers behind the Group's performance is set out below.

 

1: STR data, standard basis, 28 February 2025 to 26 February 2026, UK and Germany M&E market excluding Premier Inn

2: Total cost efficiencies delivered in FY26, after the removal of non-recurring structural savings

 

Premier Inn UK - continued market outperformance

 

Premier Inn UK accommodation sales increased by 1% reflecting a strong recovery from the second quarter and continued outperformance versus the wider M&E market¹. We ended the year +0.3pp ahead of the market on total accommodation sales growth and +1.1pp ahead on RevPAR growth, maintaining a healthy RevPAR premium of £5.88.

 

Total Average Room Rate ('ARR') increased by 3% to £81.95 (FY25: £79.52) and occupancy remained high at 79.1% (FY25: 81.0%), with the result that RevPAR was up 1%. In London, increased leisure demand, supported by a positive events calendar and a strong festive period, contributed to both higher ARR and accommodation sales, up 3% and 4% respectively. In the Regions, a 3% increase in ARR was broadly offset by slightly lower occupancy of 79.0% (FY25: 81.1%), with the result that total accommodation sales were flat year-on-year.

 

Total UK F&B revenue reduced by 8% as we transition a number of our lower returning branded restaurants into a more efficient, integrated F&B offering. Although F&B performance was slightly better than expected due to the timing of branded restaurant disposals, total UK statutory revenue was down 1% year-on-year.

 

1: STR data, standard basis, 28 February 2025 to 26 February 2026, UK M&E market excluding Premier Inn

 

The following external and internal factors were important drivers for our UK business over the past year:

 

·       UK market demand: After a softer start to the year, the UK returned to market growth during the second quarter, supported by robust leisure demand that was boosted by a strong events calendar in July and August. Positive momentum continued through the rest of the year, with good levels of demand over the Christmas and New Year period. Our strong market position and proprietary pricing model meant that we outperformed the market on accommodation sales and RevPAR and our occupancy remained high, albeit marginally below last year. We delivered good revenue growth through our business to business ('B2B') channels with Business Booker and Travel Management Companies ('TMCs') performing well.

 

·       Muted supply growth: Our latest market analysis of UK hotel rooms confirms that the supply backdrop has remained muted since the pandemic. Hotel construction starts are expected to plateau this year and while the branded budget sector, including Premier Inn, is expected to grow over the next few years, we maintain our view that the independent hotel sector will continue to decline. As a result, we expect that the total UK market will not return to 2019 levels of supply¹ until at least 2028, which is slightly later than our previous estimate. Our supply analysis was completed prior to the onset of the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Therefore, should this impact new hotel development in the UK, our estimates regarding future supply growth may prove conservative.

 

1: Company data

 

·      Accelerating Growth Plan ('AGP'): During the year, we made great progress against our original plan to optimise the delivery of F&B for our guests across a number of sites. This includes the conversion of lower returning branded restaurants into a more efficient F&B offering, while also unlocking new, higher returning extension rooms. Of those included in the original plan, 31 sites and 583 extension rooms opened during the year, with encouraging early performance across both the new extension rooms and the integrated F&B offering. As at 26 February 2026, planning applications had been submitted for c.90% of affected sites, with permission approved for c.70%, and c.40% either completed or currently in progress. We have also concluded the sale of 51 branded restaurants for a total consideration of £50m, with a further 60 sites where we have agreed terms of sale, subject to conditions.

 

·      Network expansion: Premier Inn is the UK's largest and best-known hotel brand, with a 12% share of the total UK hotel market and nearly 850 hotels open across the UK and Ireland. Our flexible approach to property ownership means we are able to take on either freehold or leasehold sites, provided they meet our returns thresholds. This approach helps us secure high-quality sites in the best locations, supporting continued expansion and reinforcing our market-leading position. During the year, we opened 1,190 new rooms, including extensions room as part of the AGP. We closed 592 rooms as part of our estate optimisation programme, including both lower returning rooms and those impacted by the AGP. As at 26 February 2026, we had 846 hotels (FY25: 852) and 86,582 rooms open (FY25: 85,984), while our new rooms committed¹ increased to 7,906 rooms (FY25: 7,210), of which the majority are freehold, plus an additional 1,141 committed AGP extension rooms².

 

1: UK and Ireland committed pipeline excluding extension rooms from the Accelerating Growth Plan

2: Planning approval received for the Accelerating Growth Plan extension rooms with Board approval to progress

 

·      Efficiency programme: We have a strong track record of unlocking material cost efficiencies, helping to offset inflationary pressures across our UK cost base. With further savings from the transformation of our F&B distribution model and the deployment of new technology in areas including guest support and labour forecasting, we were able to accelerate savings and delivered better than expected cost efficiencies of £83m¹.

 

1: Total cost efficiencies delivered in FY26, after the removal of non-recurring structural savings

 

·      Commercial programme: We have a wide range of commercial initiatives that are focused on driving like-for-like sales^† momentum to support and extend our market-leading position in the UK. Highlights of these initiatives during FY26 include:

 

o  Refining marketing strategies: We have maintained our market-leading high brand awareness of over 90% in the UK¹. We continued to refine our marketing to drive cost-effective customer acquisition and support growth through expanding demand channels and leveraging our strong brand position in AI-powered search. Since the year end, we have also launched our new Premier Inn integrated media campaign, 'You know what you're getting', reinforcing the consistency and reliability of our offer across brand, digital and social channels. The campaign went live in mid-March and is landing positively in the market.

 

1: UK YouGov Brand Awareness as at 26 February 2026 based on a nationally representative 52-week moving average

 

o  Expanding distribution channels: During the second half, we launched 'Premier Inn Business', bringing together our Business Booker and Business Account programmes into a single offering designed to enhance the user experience, grow our presence in the business market and drive loyalty. The proposition is resonating well with business guests, reflected in year-on-year revenue growth of 7%. We also strengthened our relationships with several travel management companies ('TMCs'), and together with 'Premier Inn Business', these channels represented approximately 22% of FY26 UK accommodation sales (FY25: 21%). Whilst direct distribution remains our core channel, we also introduced the use of inbound-only online travel agents ('OTAs') which have performed well and are driving incremental international demand.

 

o  Optimising revenue management: At the core of our vertically integrated model is our proprietary automated trading engine ('ATE') that seeks to maximise revenue for any given level of demand, helping us to stay ahead of the wider M&E market. During FY26, we undertook a detailed benchmarking exercise comparing ATE against several third-party alternatives, which reaffirmed that ATE remains a source of significant competitive advantage.

 

o  Increasing ancillary revenue: The flexibility of our cloud-based reservation system means we can drive incremental revenue by offering a range of additional options for our guests. Options such as early check-in, late check-out and upgraded room types, including 'Premier Plus' and 'Room with a View', are helping to support an uplift in RevPAR. Others, including parking and high-speed Wi-Fi, as well as the sale of Premier Inn beds and bedding for guests who want to enjoy a great night's sleep at home, drive Premier Inn non-room revenue, which increased 21% year-on-year to £34m in FY26.

 

o  Enhancing guest engagement through a better digital experience: We continue to enhance the guest booking journey by optimising both our website and app functionality. The Premier Inn app is increasingly central to how our guests book and stay with us, with improvements in satisfaction, channel share and revenues. As the majority of our guests book direct, we have built up a large and active database of 7.3 million customers, up from 5.6 million in FY25. Through leveraging this data to enhance our CRM and promotional capabilities, including targeted campaigns, we have increased guest engagement and driven CRM revenue growth of 15% in FY26. Having rolled out our new self-service check-in kiosks across part of our estate, a growing proportion of check-ins are now completed through kiosks, enabling a better guest experience and improved labour efficiency and, in some of our larger hotels, the majority of check-ins are now self-served.

 

o  Best-in-class operations: The quality and consistency of our guest offer underpin our position as the UK's number one hotel brand and 'Best Value Hotel Chain'¹. To maintain this position, we continue to invest in our estate, including the roll-out of our new standard room (ID5) and Premier Plus room formats, as well as through our ongoing maintenance programmes. These include targeted upgrades including new beds, pillows and signage as well as enhancements to our Wi-Fi network, all of which contribute to a consistent and high-quality guest experience. We also remain committed to supporting our teams so they can continue to deliver excellent service for our guests. By investing in competitive pay, training and development, we maintain high levels of engagement and employee satisfaction with over 75% of our team members having over one year's service.

 

1: YouGov BrandIndex Quality & Value scores as at 26 February 2026 based on a nationally representative 52-week moving average

 

The conversion of lower returning branded restaurants into a more efficient F&B offering, together with accelerated cost efficiencies of £83m¹, meant that despite significant inflationary pressures including higher national living wage, national insurance and food and beverage costs, operating costs reduced by 3%.

 

Lower UK revenue and increases in both right of use asset depreciation and lease liability interest, driven by the impact of rent reviews (accounting for the majority of these increases) as well as sale and leaseback transactions, meant that UK segment adjusted profit before tax^† declined 2% year-on-year to £499m (FY25: £507m). UK segment adjusted pre-tax margins^† were flat year-on-year at 18.8% (FY25: 18.8%), while UK ROCE^† was 12.7% (FY25: 12.9%). During the year, £103m (FY25: £43m) of impairment and £28m (FY25: £1m) of accelerated depreciation was recognised in the UK, arising from site extensions and conversions in relation to the AGP. In addition, £15m of impairments (FY25: £10m) were recognised on other assets.

 

1: Total cost efficiencies delivered in FY26, after the removal of non-recurring structural savings

 

Premier Inn Germany - delivering profitability

 

Reaching profitability in Germany for the first time represents an important milestone for the Group, with segment adjusted profit before tax^† of £2m (FY25: £11m loss), reflecting strong momentum and the continued progress we are making in this large and exciting market. Despite softer market demand in the second quarter, reflecting a lower events profile than the prior year, the continued growth of our estate, and the increasing maturity of our hotels and brand, as well as our commercial initiatives, meant we delivered 12% growth in total accommodation sales and RevPAR growth of 6%, with both occupancy and ARR ahead of last year.

 

Drawing on our growing pool of guest and trading data, we continue to refine and enhance our commercial strategy, which is contributing to our positive RevPAR momentum:

 

·      Improved trading strategies - We continued to focus on optimising performance on key event nights that account for over 20% of total accommodation sales and are a significant driver of profitability. By refining our pricing strategy, we delivered an improved performance versus the market on these nights, with our more established cohort achieving RevPAR ahead of the market.

 

·      Driving ancillary revenue - By offering guests several optional extras during the booking journey, we are enhancing the overall guest experience, while also driving incremental revenue. The rollout of options including additional Premier Plus rooms, early check‑in and late check‑out is driving RevPAR growth. On‑site add‑ons, such as parking and in‑hotel self‑service options, drive other non-room revenue, which increased 19% year-on-year.

 

·      Broadening distribution - Providing room availability through the right mix of channels ensures we can continue to attract high volumes of domestic and international demand. OTAs remain an important and value‑accretive channel in the German market, driving incremental demand and strengthening brand awareness. Guests who book directly with us get the best experience and central to this is the continued development of the Premier Inn app, supporting a more seamless digitally-led booking journey including the ability to check-in online, accelerating customer acquisition and building loyalty.

 

·      Increasing brand awareness - Our strategy is designed to firmly establish our brand presence and elevate our market positioning within the German hospitality sector. Having become a business of real scale, we continue to focus on raising our profile with an average brand awareness in FY26 of 19%¹. Whilst this remains behind our competitors, the quality of our product and resulting high guest scores mean Premier Inn has delivered the strongest year‑on‑year increase in brand awareness among competitors reaching 21%² at the end of February 2026.

 

1: Germany YouGov Brand Awareness as at 26 February 2026 based on a nationally representative 52-week moving average

2: Germany YouGov Brand Awareness as at 26 February 2026 based on a nationally representative monthly average

 

·      Enhancing our property strategy - We continue to optimise our property conversion and development strategy, strengthening partnerships with key stakeholders to drive further cost efficiencies. This focus has enabled us to both minimise disruption and reduce timelines as well as improve the financial performance of sites that are being converted.

In FY26, we opened 633 new rooms and grew our pipeline. As at 26 February 2026, our open and committed pipeline stood at 19,182 rooms (FY25: 18,230 rooms) with c.20% of our committed pipeline being freehold sites. During the year, £17m of impairment (FY25: £23m) was recognised in Germany at a small number of sites. 

As a result of these initiatives and with the increasing maturity of our estate and brand, RevPAR grew by 4% in local currency which was significantly ahead of the M&E market¹. This strong performance was supported by our cohort of 17 more established hotels², that is continuing to mature, as evidenced by its 6% RevPAR growth in local currency. This cohort of sites delivered aggregate site-level profit³ of £20m (FY25: £16m), providing a useful indicator of the future profit potential of our estate as a whole.

 

1: Local currency based on STR data, standard basis, 28 February 2025 to 26 February 2026, Germany M&E market excluding Premier Inn

2: Cohort of 17 more established German hotels that were open and trading under the Premier Inn brand for 12 consecutive months as at 4 March 2022

3: In aggregate, adjusted profit before tax^† excluding non-site related administration and overhead costs

 

Capital allocation - Investing for the long-term to drive higher returns

 

Our strong balance sheet means we have been able to strike the right balance between investing in high returning, long-term growth opportunities and rewarding shareholders through dividends and earnings-enhancing share buy-backs.

 

Our capital allocation framework has not changed and is primarily focused on driving high returns on capital. The core elements of our framework are as follows:

 

·    maintain our investment grade status by operating below our leverage threshold;

·    continue to fund our ongoing capital expenditure requirements and invest through the cycle;

·    complete selective freehold acquisitions and M&A opportunities that meet our returns thresholds;

·    recycle capital from lower returning assets into higher returning investments, when suitable opportunities arise;

·    grow dividends in line with earnings; and

·    return excess capital to shareholders, dependent on the outlook and market conditions.

 

After total capital investment of £697m (FY25: £500m) and £419m of share buy-backs and dividends (FY25: £442m), our ratio of lease-adjusted net debt¹ to adjusted EBITDAR was 3.3x (FY25: 3.0x) which is below our internal threshold of 3.5x.

 

The Board is recommending a final dividend of 60.6p per share (FY25: 60.6p), making a total of 97.0p for the year (FY25: 97.0p).

 

1: This measure aligns to the Fitch methodology, with the leverage threshold set at 3.5x lease-adjusted net debt : adjusted EBITDAR for BBB-
and 3.0x for BBB, both of which are within investment grade

 

Business strategy

Our ambition is to become the world's best budget hotel brand, delivering a fantastic experience for our guests, rewarding employment for our teams and long-term, sustainable returns for our shareholders whilst also driving positive change through our Force for Good sustainability programme. To achieve our objective, we are executing the following three pillars of our business strategy:

 

·    continuing to grow and innovate in the UK;

·    focus on our strengths to grow in Germany; and

·    enhancing our capabilities to support long-term growth.

 

Each pillar is embedded within our New Five-Year Plan.

 

New Five-Year Plan

 

Since announcing our previous Five-Year Plan in October 2024, the Group has faced two key challenges. First, unexpected changes to the prevailing fiscal and trading environment, including higher than expected cost inflation and significant increases in UK business rates, have impacted the financial benefits of the Group's previous Five-Year Plan. Second, the Group's market value has remained at a significant discount to the inherent value of our business.

 

Our New Five-Year Plan reflects the output from the Board's comprehensive business review with clear steps to drive a significant increase in both margins and returns that will fund substantial cash returns for shareholders. The planned steps to achieve this include:

 

·    maximising UK returns by reallocating capital spend and by addressing lower returning F&B operations;

·    accelerating the delivery of free cash flow and higher financial returns in Germany;

·    funding future room growth through recycling of the Group's freehold property; and

·    reducing the proportion of freehold assets held across the Group whilst remaining investment grade.

 

Further details regarding the Group's New Five-Year Plan can be found in a separate RNS announcement issued today and published on our investor website: www.whitbread.co.uk/investors.

 

Force for Good

 

Our sustainability programme Force for Good is fundamental to the long-term growth and resilience of Whitbread. It comprises three elements: opportunity, responsibility and community, and has targets embedded across all areas of our business.

 

Opportunity

 

We seek to create employment opportunities for all, with no barriers to entry and no limits to ambition. Opportunity at Whitbread anchors to our talent development and training, opportunities for disadvantaged youth, diversity and inclusion ('D&I'), and wellbeing.

 

We train and develop our people through a variety of initiatives, taking them through the core skills needed to deliver service for our guests, through to career progression programmes into management. More than half of our management positions in operations last year were filled by internal candidates, reflecting the success of our internal development pathways. We have over 1,000 apprentices in learning and we are ranked 8th in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers. Social mobility remains important to us and we have supported care-experienced young people into employment through our partnership with Barnardo's Children's Charity, as well as continuing our Thrive programme with the Derwent and Hereward Colleges which has supported students with learning difficulties into permanent employment with us.

 

We progressed our female leadership representation, improving to 40%, and saw recognition for our D&I efforts during FY26 with our short-listing at both the British LGBTQIA+ and 2025 Ethnicity Awards for, respectively, Employee Network of the year and leading company network. We were also accredited as a UK Top Employer for the 16th consecutive year.

           

The wellbeing of our teams is critical and we built on the excellent foundations laid in prior years with a regular programme of communications around key themes, such as the menopause and financial wellbeing, delivering specific webinars on key topics and achieved Henpicked's Menopause Friendly Employer Accreditation as recognition of our work in this area.

 

Responsibility

 

Our responsibility pillar is centred around decarbonisation of our operations, water stewardship, waste management and responsible sourcing.

 

Our SBTi-validated target to reduce operational emissions by 2040 is underpinned by the replacement of legacy gas boilers with air-source heat pumps and other solutions as we gradually shift towards electricity as the main source of power. Having opened our first low-carbon¹ hotel in 2023, we electrified a further c.800 rooms across our UK estate (FY25: 759), bringing the total to c.2,300 low-carbon rooms, more than any other hotel operator in the UK market. The transition from gas boilers to heat pumps is broadly cost-neutral from an operating cost perspective, with returns improving over time as electricity becomes more competitive than gas.

 

Our Scope 1&2 emissions intensity has reduced by 63% from an FY17 baseline (FY25: 62%), and 4% year-on-year, keeping us broadly on track to achieve our 2030 target of an 84% reduction.

 

We are also on track to reduce our water consumption by 20% by 2030 from an FY20 baseline, having achieved a 18% reduction per sleeper in FY26 (FY25: 14%) in the UK & Ireland ('UK&I'). The results of our low-flow showerhead rollout, now at 66% of our sites (FY25: 40%), has exceeded our expectations, helping us to lower both water and gas usage. The project is also estimated to reduce annual operating costs by approximately £4m once fully deployed.

 

Since 2024, our conversion‑led strategy has helped us deliver high‑quality budget rooms faster and with a lower environmental footprint. In FY26, we opened four low-carbon hotels in the UK, half of them in existing buildings. Two newly built sites achieved an EPC rating of A and BREEAM certification: one was rated Excellent and the other Very Good.

 

Managing food waste is a key priority for our UK&I operations. In FY26, we reached a 40% reduction from an FY18 baseline (FY25: 31%), remaining on track to achieve a 50% reduction by 2030. In addition to selling surplus breakfast items at an increasing number of our hotels, enhanced analytics from our new waste management provider are delivering improved site-level insight and operational performance. We also donated c.40,000 meals to 641 charities via FareShare.

 

With our shift to wholesalers for the majority of food and consumable purchases in the UK&I, we continue to source critical commodities responsibly, with 100% of beef farm assured, 100% of wild caught fish MSC certified, and 100% of our shell and liquid eggs sourced from cage-free farms, accredited by British Lion and Bord Bia (Origin Ireland Q-Mark). Additionally, all coffee served in the UK&I is certified by either Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance, while 100% of palm oil in non-branded food products being RSPO-certified.

 

During the reporting year, we maintained our CDP Carbon and Water rating at B, and our MSCI ESG rating at AA, while improving our ISS ESG rating from B‑ to B.

 

We are actively monitoring all regulatory developments and are leveraging our experience with TCFD, SASB and transition planning disclosures thereby ensuring we are well positioned to meet all our current and future obligations.

 

1: 'Low-carbon' hotels are powered by electricity backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin and no gas or liquefied petroleum gas is used for water and space heating and cooking

 

Community

 

As the UK nutrition and public health agenda continues to evolve, shaped by high rates of obesity, dietary health inequalities and cost of living pressures, we are updating our internal non‑HFSS (high in fat, salt and sugar) targets following completion of core menu reviews. In FY26 we delivered reductions of 4% in calories and 12% in salt from a 2017 baseline, and 24% in sugar from a 2015 baseline, compared with reductions of 3%, 21% and 25% respectively in FY25.

 

Since 2012, our teams and guests have raised almost £29m, including £3m in FY26 (FY25: £2m), in partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. This includes £8m towards the Premier Inn Clinical Building (opened in 2018) and £10m for the Sight & Sound Centre (opened in 2021). We have now secured more than half of our £20m commitment for the "Build it. Beat it." appeal, which will fund the development of a new Children's Cancer Centre. The investment will support the creation of three new inpatient wards and a dedicated parents' lounge, enhancing care and family experience during treatment.

 

In Germany, our teams and guests have raised nearly €2m for Children for a Better World to address child poverty, while in Ireland we continue to support the Children's Health Foundation.

 

Business Review

 

Premier Inn UK¹

£m			FY26		FY25		vs FY25
Statutory Revenue			2,659		2,691		(1)%
Other income (excl rental income)			2		1		67%
Operating costs before depreciation, amortisation & rent			(1,642)		(1,696)		3%
Adjusted EBITDAR†			1,019		997		2%
Net turnover rent and rental income			1		1		(33)%
Depreciation: Right-of-use asset			(165)		(153)		(8)%
Depreciation and amortisation: Other			(201)		(193)		(4)%
Adjusted operating profit†			653		652		0%
Interest: Lease liability			(154)		(145)		(6)%
Segment adjusted profit before tax†			499		507		(2)%
ROCE†			12.7%		12.9%		(20)bps
Segment adjusted PBT margins†			18.8%		18.8%		(7)bps
Premier Inn UK1 key performance indicators
			FY26		FY25		vs FY25
Number of hotels			846		852		(1)%
Number of rooms			86,582		85,984		1%
Committed pipeline (new rooms)2,3			7,906		7,210		10%
Committed pipeline (AGP extension rooms)3,4			1,141		1,012		13%
Occupancy			79.1%		81.0%		(190)bps
Average room rate†			£81.95		£79.52		3%
Revenue per available room†			£64.81		£64.42		1%
Sales growth:
Accommodation							1%
Food & beverage5							(8)%
Premier Inn Other							21%
Total							(1)%
Like-for-like† sales growth:
Accommodation							0%
Food & beverage5							(1)%
Premier Inn Other							21%
Total							0%

1: Includes one site in each of: Guernsey and the Isle of Man, two sites in Jersey and six sites in Ireland

2: UK and Ireland committed pipeline excluding extension rooms from the Accelerating Growth Plan

3: FY25: 18 rooms reclassified from committed pipeline (AGP extension rooms) to committed pipeline (new rooms)

4: Planning approval received for the Accelerating Growth Plan extension rooms with Board approval to progress

5: Food & beverage revenue includes £6m of other restaurant revenues (FY25: £7m)      

 

Premier Inn UK accommodation sales increased 1%, reflecting a strong recovery from the second quarter and outperformed the wider M&E market¹. Premier Inn other sales increased by 21% driven by growth in ancillary revenues from optional guest add-ons including high-speed Wi-Fi and car parking. Total UK F&B revenues fell by 8%, as we continue the transition of a number of our lower returning branded restaurants into a more efficient, integrated F&B offering. Although F&B performance was slightly better than expected, due to the timing of branded restaurant disposals, total UK statutory revenue was down 1%.

 

Reflecting the strength of our brand, guest proposition and commercial initiatives, we were +0.3pp ahead of the market on total accommodation sales growth and +1.1pp ahead on RevPAR growth, maintaining a healthy RevPAR premium of £5.88.

UK performance vs M&E market

					H1 FY26	H2 FY26	FY26
PI accommodation sales growth performance (vs FY25)1					+1.0pp	(0.6)pp	+0.3pp
PI occupancy growth performance (vs FY25)1					(1.3)pp	(1.5)pp	(1.4)pp
PI ARR growth performance (vs FY25)1					+2.9pp	+2.8pp	+2.9pp
PI RevPAR growth performance (vs FY25)1					+1.4pp	+0.8pp	+1.1pp
PI RevPAR premium (absolute)1					£6.39	£5.34	£5.88
PI market share2					8.3%	8.0%	8.2%
PI market share losses (vs FY25)2					(0.1)pp	(0.1)pp	(0.1)pp

1: STR data, standard basis, Premier Inn accommodation revenue, occupancy, ARR and RevPAR 28 February 2025 to 26 February 2026, UK M&E market excluding Premier Inn

2: STR data, revenue share of total UK market, 28 February 2025 to 26 February 2026

 

Despite significant inflationary pressures, operating costs reduced by 3% to £1,642m (FY25: £1,696m) reflecting the exit and conversion of lower returning branded restaurants into a more efficient F&B offering, together with accelerated cost efficiencies. As a result, adjusted EBITDAR^† was up 2% at £1,019m (FY25: £997m).

 

Right-of-use asset depreciation in the period increased by 8% to £165m (FY25: £153m) and lease liability interest increased by 6% to £154m (FY25: £145m) driven by the impact of rent reviews, which accounted for the majority of this increase, as well as sale and leaseback transactions completed during the period. Our continued focus of investing in our core estate, alongside estate growth, meant other depreciation and amortisation charges increased by 4% to £201m (FY25: £193m).

 

As a result, UK segment adjusted profit before tax^† declined 2% to £499m (FY25: £507m). UK segment adjusted pre-tax margins^† were flat year-on-year at 18.8% (FY25: 18.8%), while UK ROCE^† was 12.7% (FY25: 12.9%).

 

We opened 1,190 new rooms, including extension rooms as part of the AGP. We closed 592 rooms, including both lower returning rooms, as well as those impacted by the AGP, as we seek to optimise the portfolio to drive higher returns. As at 26 February 2026, we had 846 hotels open and trading with a total of 86,582 rooms, with a further 7,906 new rooms committed¹, of which the majority are freehold, plus an additional 1,141 committed AGP extension rooms².

 

1: UK and Ireland committed pipeline excluding extension rooms from the Accelerating Growth Plan

2: Planning approval received for the Accelerating Growth Plan extension rooms with Board approval to progress

 

Premier Inn Germany¹

	£m				FY26	FY25	vs FY25	vs FY25 CC2
	Statutory revenue				261	231	13%	11%
	Operating costs before depreciation, amortisation and rent				(177)	(165)	(7)%	(5)%
	Adjusted EBITDAR†				85	66	28%	26%
	Net turnover rent and rental income				0	0	33%	25%
	Depreciation: Right-of-use asset				(44)	(42)	(5)%	(3)%
	Depreciation and amortisation: Other				(16)	(15)	(12)%	(9)%
	Adjusted operating profit†				25	10	>100%	>100%
	Interest: Lease liability				(23)	(21)	(8)%	(5)%
	Segment adjusted profit / (loss) before tax†				2	(11)	>100%	>100%
Premier Inn Germany1 key performance indicators
					FY26	FY25	vs FY25	vs FY25 CC2
Number of hotels					65	62	5%	-
Number of rooms					11,598	10,965	6%	-
Committed pipeline (rooms)					7,584	7,265	4%	-
Occupancy					69.0%	67.8%	120bps	-
Average room rate†					£78.53	£75.08	5%	2%
Revenue per available room†					£54.19	£50.90	6%	4%
Sales growth:
Accommodation							12%	9%
Food & beverage							22%	19%
Other							19%	16%
Total							13%	11%
Like-for-like† sales growth:
Accommodation							7%	5%
Food & beverage							14%	12%
Other							14%	11%
Total							8%	6%

1: Includes one site in Austria

2: On a constant currency basis, EUR

 

Total statutory revenue in Germany increased by 11% in local currency, reflecting: the growth in our estate; the increasing maturity of our hotels; enhancements to our trading strategies; broader distribution across channels such as OTAs; and further progress in building our brand awareness. Total estate RevPAR increased by 4% to €63 and RevPAR for our cohort of 17 more established hotels⁴ increased by 6% to €71, both of which outperformed the wider M&E market³.

 

Germany performance vs M&E market

						H1 FY26	H2 FY26	FY26	vs FY25
Germany M&E RevPAR performance3						€58	€55	€56	(2)%
PI more established hotels RevPAR performance4						€69	€73	€71	6%
PI total hotels RevPAR performance4						€62	€64	€63	4%

3: STR data, standard methodology basis, 28 February 2025 to 26 February 2026, M&E excluding Premier Inn

4: Premier Inn more established hotels: open and trading under the Premier Inn brand for 12 consecutive months as at 4 March 2022: 17 hotels and Premier Inn total: 63 hotels as at 26 February 2026

 

Operating costs in the period increased by 7% to £177m (FY25: £165m) reflecting the continued growth of our estate and cost inflation. As a budget hotel operator, we maintain a strong focus on cost control and margin growth, alongside delivering a consistently high-quality guest experience. We have continued to refine our operating model, evolving our use of technology and streamlining our management structures to ensure we remain efficient and agile. Both right-of-use asset depreciation and lease liability costs increased slightly to £44m (FY25: £42m) and £23m (FY25: £21m) respectively, consistent with the size of our leasehold estate. Other depreciation and amortisation charges increased slightly to £16m (FY25: £15m).

 

As at 26 February 2026, we had 65 open hotels and 11,598 open rooms and a further 7,584 rooms in our committed pipeline. Since the period end, we have opened a further 6 hotels and 1,225 rooms from our committed pipeline.

 

Our focus on cost efficiencies, the progressive maturity of our estate and our ongoing commercial initiatives continue to raise our brand awareness and drive customer volumes. These factors contributed to the achievement of profit before tax^† of £2m (FY25: £11m loss).

 

Central and other costs

£m				FY26	FY25	Vs FY25
Operating costs before depreciation, amortisation and rent				(34)	(37)	9%
Share of profit from joint ventures				5	5	0%
Adjusted operating loss†				(29)	(32)	10%
Net finance income				11	20	(44)%
Adjusted loss before tax†				(18)	(12)	(48)%

 

Central operating costs decreased to £34m (FY25: £37m) reflecting efficiency savings. Net finance income (excluding lease liability interest) reduced to £11m (FY25: £20m) reflecting lower interest receivable on cash balances following the repayment of the £450m bond in October 2025, completion of the £250m share buy-back and the impact of lower UK interest rates.

 

Financial review

 

Financial highlights

£m			FY26	FY25	Vs FY25
Statutory revenue			2,920	2,922	0%
Other income (excl rental income)			2	1	90%
Adjusted operating costs1			(1,853)	(1,898)	2%
Share of profit from joint ventures			5	5	0%
Adjusted EBITDAR†			1,074	1,030	4%
Net turnover rent and rental income			1	2	(20)%
Depreciation: Right-of-use asset			(209)	(194)	(7)%
Depreciation and amortisation: Other			(218)	(208)	(5)%
Adjusted operating profit†			649	630	3%
Net finance income (excl. lease liability interest)			11	20	(44)%
Interest: Lease liability			(177)	(167)	(6)%
Adjusted profit before tax†			483	483	0%
Adjusting items			(185)	(116)	(60)%
Statutory profit before tax			298	368	(19)%
Tax expense			(86)	(114)	25%
Statutory profit after tax			213	254	(16)%

1: Adjusted operating costs before depreciation, amortisation and rent

 

Statutory revenue

Statutory revenue of £2,920m (FY25: £2,922m) was slightly lower than the prior year, reflecting a 1% increase in UK accommodation sales and positive momentum in Germany, offset by the reduction in F&B revenues as a result of the AGP.

 

Adjusted EBITDAR

Adjusted operating costs reduced by 2% in the period to £1,853m (FY25: £1,898m), driven by the impact of a more efficient F&B offering and our continued progress on cost efficiencies that helped to mitigate the impact of increased levels of cost inflation. Adjusted EBITDAR^† increased by 4% to £1,074m (FY25: £1,030m).

 

Adjusted operating profit

Right-of-use asset depreciation increased by 7% to £209m (FY25: £194m) reflecting the impact of rent reviews, which accounted for the majority of this increase, as well as sale and leaseback transactions completed during the year. Our estate growth, in combination with our continued focus of investing in our core estate, meant that other depreciation and amortisation charges increased by 5% to £218m (FY25: £208m). Despite these increases, adjusted operating profit^† increased by 3% to £649m (FY25: £630m).

 

Net finance costs

Net finance income (excluding lease liability interest) reduced in the year to £11m (FY25: £20m), reflecting lower interest receivable on cash balances following the repayment of the £450m bond in October 2025, completion of the £250m share buy-back and the impact of lower UK interest rates. Interest on lease liabilities increased by 6% driven by the impact of rent reviews, which accounted for the majority of this increase, as well as sale and leaseback transactions completed during the year.

 

Adjusted profit before tax

Taking the above movements together and despite significant inflationary pressures, adjusted profit before tax^† for the year was flat at £483m (FY25: £483m).

 

Adjusting items

£m	FY26	FY25
Legal claim settlements and insurance proceeds	3	1
Net impairment charges1	(32)	(33)
Accelerating Growth Plan-related net impairment charges and write-offs	(130)	(44)
Net gain on disposals of property	6	40
Property and other provisions	(14)	(4)
Strategic IT programme costs	(8)	(25)
Strategic F&B programme costs	(4)	(20)
Strategic supply chain programme costs	(3)	(24)
Employment tax settlement	-	2
Other restructuring costs	(2)	(9)
Adjusting items before tax	(185)	(116)

1: Net impairment charges - property plant and equipment, right-of-use assets and assets held for sale

 

Total adjusting items before tax were a charge of £185m in the period, compared to a £116m charge in FY25.

 

During the year, insurance settlements of £3m were received in relation to damaged inventory.

 

Impairments of £130m (FY25: £44m) were recognised in relation to the AGP and £32m of impairments (FY25: £33m) were recognised on non-AGP assets. Within the £130m of impairments in relation to the AGP, the Group has recognised £28m (FY25: £1m) of accelerated depreciation arising from site extensions and conversions in relation to the AGP to transform and exit a number of the Group's branded restaurants.

 

The Group recorded gains of £6m (FY25: £40m) from property disposals, including sale and leasebacks. A provision of £1m related to historic tax positions was released, which was more than offset by a new property-related provision of £15m.

 

The Group has incurred significant business change costs in relation to the implementation of the Group's new hotel management system, HR & payroll system, F&B system and our strategic network programme to upgrade the IT networks across our estate. Cash costs incurred on the programmes and presented within adjusting items in the year were £8m (FY25: £25m), with cumulative cash costs to date being £74m (FY25: £66m).

 

The Group has incurred legal, advisory and project management costs regarding the announced changes to facilitate the AGP. Cash costs incurred relating to the AGP and presented within adjusting items in the year were £4m (FY25: £20m), with cumulative cash costs to date being £30m.

 

As part of the Group's strategic supply chain programme, the Group has incurred costs of £3m (FY25: £24m) in relation to associated IT and project management costs. The move to a new supplier allows the Group to make use of a different supply model and it is expected the commercial and strategic benefit will be seen over the long-term.

 

During the year, the Group restructured its UK Contact Centre, resulting in a charge of £2m.

 

Taxation

The tax charge of £123m on the profit before adjusting items (FY25: £134m) represents an effective tax rate on the profit before adjusting items of 25.5% (FY25: 27.8%). This is higher than the UK corporate tax rate of 25.0%, primarily due to the impact of overseas tax losses for which no deferred tax has been recognised. The statutory tax charge for the period of £86m (FY25: £114m) represents an effective tax rate of 28.6% (FY25: 31.0%). This is higher than the effective tax rate on the profit before adjusting items of 25.5%, primarily due to the impact of impairment of Germany property and the impact of changes to indexation allowances available on UK property.

 

Statutory profit after tax

Reflecting all of the movements above, statutory profit after tax for the year was £213m, compared to a profit of £254m in FY25.

 

Earnings per share

	FY26		FY25		vs FY25
Adjusted basic profit / earnings per share†	208.5p		194.6p		7%
Statutory basic profit / earnings per share	123.3p		141.5p		(13)%

 

Adjusted basic profit per share^† of 208.5p and statutory basic profit per share of 123.3p reflect the adjusted and statutory profits reported in the period and are based on a weighted average number of shares of 173m (FY25: 179m). The reduction in the weighted average number of shares reflects shares purchased and cancelled as part of the Group's previously announced share buy-back programmes.

 

Dividend

The Board has recommended a final dividend per share of 60.6 pence (FY25: 60.6 pence), taking the total dividend per share for the year to 97.0p (FY25: 97.0p). The final dividend will be paid on 3 July 2026 to all shareholders on the register at the close of business on 22 May 2026. Shareholders will be offered the option to participate in a dividend re-investment plan. The Group's dividend policy is to grow the dividend broadly in line with earnings across the cycle. Full details are set out in note 8 to the accompanying financial statements.

 

Cashflow

£m	FY26	FY25
Adjusted EBITDAR†	1,074	1,030
Change in working capital	(10)	5
Net turnover rent and rental income	1	2
Lease liability interest and lease repayments	(353)	(313)
Adjusted operating cashflow†	713	723
Interest (excl. lease liability interest)	(15)	8
Corporate taxes	(100)	(50)
Pension	(6)	(18)
Capital expenditure: non-expansionary	(176)	(247)
Capital expenditure: expansionary1	(500)	(241)
Pre-paid property acquisition cost	(22)	(12)
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment	31	81
Proceeds from sale and leaseback of property	282	56
Other	(2)	(40)
Cashflow before shareholder returns / receipts and debt repayments	205	260
Dividend	(169)	(178)
Share buy-back	(250)	(264)
Purchase of own shares for ESOT	(11)	0
Payment of facility fees and costs of long-term borrowings	(1)	(2)
Net cashflow	(226)	(185)
Opening net debt†	(483)	(298)
Closing net debt†	(709)	(483)

1: FY25 includes £2m payment of contingent consideration

 

Our vertically integrated model and continued focus on tight cost control meant that we were able to deliver cost efficiencies of £83m¹ which, together with the benefit from converting lower returning branded restaurants into a more efficient F&B offering, meant that operating costs reduced by 2% in the year, driving a 4% increase in adjusted EBITDAR^† to £1,074m (FY25: £1,030m).

 

Lease liability interest and lease repayments increased by £40m to £353m driven by the impact of rent reviews, which accounted for the majority of this increase, as well as the sale and leaseback transactions completed during the year. Together with a working capital outflow of £(10)m (FY25: £5m), this meant that adjusted operating cashflow^† increased to £713m (FY25: £723m).

 

1: Total cost efficiencies delivered in FY26, after the removal of non-recurring structural savings

The corporation tax net outflow in the year was £100m (FY25: £50m). This comprises payments of £98m in the UK, £1m in Ireland and £1m in Germany. The UK payments of £98m (FY25: £49m) are significantly higher than in the prior year due to the full utilisation of carry forward tax losses in FY25.

 

Non-expansionary capital expenditure in the year of £176m reflects hotel refurbishments and spend incurred for the Group's systems-related IT projects. The biggest driver of the increase in expansionary capital expenditure of £500m was related to the spend on the AGP, as well as the continued development of our committed pipelines in both the UK and Germany.

 

By continuing to optimise our estate and take advantage of value-enhancing opportunities, we generated proceeds from property-related disposals of £313m including £282m from sale and leaseback transactions together with other property disposals, including those related to the AGP, of £31m.

 

The significant operating cashflow generated in the period, together with property related disposals, helped to fund our continued programme of investment, resulting in a cash inflow before shareholder returns of £205m (FY25: £260m).

 

As announced with the Group's preliminary results on 1 May 2025, the Board recommended a final dividend of
60.6 pence per share reflecting the strength of the Group's FY25 performance and strong balance sheet. The resulting payment of £107m was paid on 4 July 2025. At the interim results in October 2025, the Board declared an interim dividend of 36.4 pence per share, resulting in a £62m dividend payment. On 30 April 2025, the Board approved a £250m share buy-back which was completed in the year.

 

As a result, net debt^† at the end of the period was £709m (FY25: £483m).

 

Debt funding facilities & liquidity

£m	Facility	Utilised	Maturity
Revolving Credit Facility	(740)	-	2029
Green Bond	(300)	(300)	2027
Green Bond	(250)	(250)	2031
Bond	(400)	(400)	2032
	(1,690)	(950)
Cash and cash equivalents		234
Total facilities utilised, net of cash1		(716)
Net debt†		(709)
Net debt and lease liabilities†		5,232

 

The Group's objective is to manage to investment grade metrics, maintaining a lease-adjusted
leverage^† ratio of less than 3.5x over the medium term². In February 2026, we received confirmation from Fitch Ratings that we have maintained our investment grade status with a rating of BBB. The Group's lease-adjusted net debt was £3,554m (FY25: £3,082m) and the lease-adjusted leverage^† ratio was 3.3x (FY25: 3.0x). As at 26 February 2026, £35m of the £775m Revolving Credit Facility is carved-out as an ancillary guarantee facility for the Group's use in Germany. At 26 February 2026, guarantees issued using this facility totalled €35m (FY25: €30m).

 

1: Excludes unamortised fees associated with the debt instrument

2: This measure aligns to the Fitch methodology, with the leverage threshold set at 3.5x lease-adjusted net debt: adjusted EBITDAR for BBB- and 3.0x for BBB, both of which are within investment grade

 

Capital investment

£m	FY26	FY25
UK maintenance and product improvement	171	240
New / extended UK hotels	415	179
Germany1	112	82
Total	697	500

1: FY26 includes £22m related to pre-paid property acquisition costs, for conistency FY25 has been restated to include £12m of pre-paid property acquisition costs. FY25 includes £2m payment of contingent consideration

UK maintenance expenditure was lower than last year at £171m, reflecting a return to more normalised levels following the completion of our bed replacement programme. UK expansionary expenditure increased significantly in the year to £415m (FY25: £179m), reflecting our continued investment in the AGP, as well as increased construction spend for new hotels including our Old Bailey site and progression at our Strand site. In Germany and the Middle East, capital expenditure was £112m, £30m higher than the prior year, in line with our estate growth. Overall, total capital expenditure for the period was £697m (FY25: £500m).

The balance sheet value of property, plant and equipment increased to £4.9bn (FY25: £4.7bn) as the increased expenditure in growing and maintaining our estate was offset by transfers to assets held for sale, depreciation and impairment charges.

 

Property-backed balance sheet

Freehold / leasehold mix		Open estate	Total estate1
Premier Inn UK		53%:47%	54%:46%
Premier Inn Germany		24%:76%	23%:77%
Group		49%:51%	49%:51%

1: Open plus committed pipeline

 

The current open UK estate is 53% freehold and 47% leasehold. However, as the existing committed pipeline is brought onstream, the mix will become slightly more weighted towards freehold. The current estate in Germany is 24% freehold and 76% leasehold reflecting the skew towards leasehold properties in city centre locations. However, with the opening of our committed pipeline, this will shift to 23% freehold and 77% leasehold.

 

New site openings in Germany and continued expansion in the UK resulted in right-of-use assets increasing to £3.8bn (FY25: £3.7bn) and lease liabilities increasing to £4.5bn (FY25: £4.2bn).

 

Return on Capital

Returns	FY26	FY25
Group ROCE†	11.1%	11.3%
UK ROCE†	12.7%	12.9%

 

Group ROCE^† in the period was 11.1% reflecting several factors including UK accommodation sales growth and positive momentum in Germany, offset by lower UK total revenue as a result of the impact of the AGP.

 

Events after the balance sheet date

The results include the announcement of the proposed extension of the Accelerating Growth Plan to optimise UK F&B to include all of the Group's remaining branded restaurants. 

 

Pension

The Group's defined benefit pension scheme, the Whitbread Group Pension Fund (the 'Pension Fund'), had an IAS19 Employee Benefits surplus of £132m at the end of the period (FY25: £135m). The slight change in surplus was primarily driven by: asset performance being lower than the discount rate; changes to the demographic assumptions which increased the assessed value of the pension obligations; and higher than expected inflation. This was partially offset by: an increase in corporate bond yields resulting in an increase in the discount rate used to value liabilities; and a reduction in expectations for future inflation.

 

There are currently no deficit reduction contributions being paid to the Pension Fund. The Trustee holds security over £531m of Whitbread's freehold property which will remain at this level until certain steps are taken in relation to the Scottish Partnership arrangements. Following that, the security held by the Trustee will be revised to the lower of: £500m; and 120% of the buy-out deficit.

 

Going concern

The directors have concluded that it is appropriate for the consolidated financial statements to be prepared on the going concern basis. Full details are set out in note 1 of the attached financial statements.

 

Risks and uncertainties

The Directors have reviewed Whitbread's principal risks and uncertainties for FY26. Overall, the Group's risk profile remains broadly consistent with the position reported at the half year, although external volatility and the scale of internal transformation continue to place pressure on several key risk areas. The operating environment remains challenging, particularly in the UK where persistent inflation, subdued consumer sentiment and structurally higher cost pressures are more pronounced. Germany is comparatively stable but continues to lag long‑term expectations.

 

The global backdrop remains uncertain. Geopolitical tensions, including the recent escalation in hostilities in the Middle East, have increased the risk of prolonged disruption to global supply chains and energy prices. Such conflict also creates potential upward pressure on oil prices over the longer term, which could feed into sustained inflation in goods, utilities and transport‑related inputs that materially affect the hospitality sector. In addition, the Group continues to closely monitor the safety and wellbeing of its teams and guests in regions directly affected by ongoing conflict, including the Middle East, recognising the evolving and uncertain nature of the situation.

 

At the same time, the business is navigating a significant period of change as major strategic, organisational and commercial programmes continue whilst recently delivered projects are embedded into the Group's day-to-day operations. The Board remains mindful of the demands this places on senior management capacity and the need to maintain appropriate balance between short‑term performance priorities and long‑term strategic value creation. Ensuring delivery momentum while preserving disciplined decision‑making, strong governance and operational resilience remains a central focus.

 

Across this context, the Group's highest‑rated risks continue to relate to the external economic outlook, the ongoing disruption in the branded restaurant estate, and the strategic change agenda.

 

Following review, the principal risks are summarised below:

·      Uncertain economic outlook - Macroeconomic volatility, fiscal pressures, sector‑specific inflation and subdued consumer demand in the UK and Germany may adversely impact trading performance, cost forecasts and the Group's ability to fund growth, with longer‑term inflationary risks linked to geopolitical instability and energy price shocks.

·      Cybersecurity - The rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape, including increased use of AI‑enabled attacks, presents a material risk to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the Group's systems and data, with potential impacts on operations, regulatory compliance and brand trust.

·      Prolonged focus on F&B propositions - Continued uncertainty in achieving a stable and sustainable F&B operating model may negatively affect Premier Inn's brand perception, customer demand and RevPAR premium versus the wider M&E market.

·      Strategic business change and interdependencies - The scale, pace and complexity of ongoing strategic initiatives, including estate optimisation and digital transformation, increase the risk of execution challenges, operational disruption and pressure on organisational capacity.

·      Brand strength and customer demand - Failure to maintain brand relevance, value perception and customer loyalty in a highly competitive market could result in reduced demand, loss of market share and pressure on pricing.

·      Changing distribution landscape and AI‑led search - Structural shifts in customer booking behaviour, including increased importance of online travel agents and emerging AI‑driven search and discovery channels, may reduce direct bookings and impact distribution costs.

·      Property finance execution - Challenging real estate market conditions, constrained investor appetite and extended transaction timelines increase the risk of delays or less favourable terms in refinancing or asset disposals, affecting leverage and financial flexibility.

·      Germany profitable growth - Slower‑than‑expected market recovery and the ongoing embedding of operating model improvements in Germany may impact the pace and profitability of growth.

·      Health & Safety - The risk of death, serious injury, major food safety failure or a significant security‑related incident remains a critical priority given the potential impact on brand, operations, customer trust and the Group's reputation.

·      Third‑party arrangements and supply chain rigour - Dependence on critical suppliers exposes the Group to risks of service disruption, operational failure, information security weaknesses and reputational damage, heightened by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty affecting global supply chains.

·      Talent attraction and retention - Structural labour shortages in certain roles, together with ongoing organisational change, may adversely affect the Group's ability to attract and retain key talent, manage costs and sustain operational capability.

·      Environmental, Social and Governance ('ESG') - Increasing regulatory requirements, decarbonisation investment, climate‑related events and sustainability‑related compliance obligations present financial, operational and reputational risks to the Group

The Board continues to monitor a broad range of emerging risks and their potential impact on the Group's strategic objectives. These include how changes in global political and economic alignments are reshaping the balance of power and influencing market stability; the pace of technological and digital advancement, including AI, and the Group's ability to respond effectively; and the operational and cultural challenges associated with embedding long‑term efficiency initiatives into the Group's day-to-day operations. As both a recognised and emerging risk, we are paying particular attention to the potential for prolonged geopolitical conflict and possible impact to the safety and wellbeing of team members and guests, travel patterns, energy and oil markets and inflationary pressures, recognising the uncertain duration and evolving nature of current events. The Board remains mindful of the risk of low probability, high-impact events that could significantly disrupt the Group's ability to trade or support operations, including the potential for future pandemics or other systemic shocks that may adversely affect travel demand and the wider hospitality sector. These considerations are embedded within the Group's risk management framework and will continue to be assessed as conditions develop.

 

The detail of our principal risks can be found on pages 65 to 71 of the Annual Report which is available on the Group's website www.whitbread.co.uk.

American Depositary Receipts

Whitbread has established a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt ('ADR') programme for which JP Morgan perform the role of depositary bank. The Level 1 ADR programme trades on the U.S. over the counter ('OTC') markets under the symbol WTBDY (it is not listed on a U.S. stock exchange).

 

Notes

^†The Group uses certain APMs to help evaluate the Group's financial performance, position and cashflows, and believes that such measures provide an enhanced understanding of the Group's results and related trends and allow for comparisons of the financial performance of the Group's businesses either from one period to another or with other similar businesses. However, APMs are not defined by IFRS and therefore may not be directly comparable with similarly titled measures reported by other companies. APMs should be considered in addition to, and are not intended to be a substitute for, or superior to, IFRS measures. APMs used in this announcement include like-for-like revenue, revenue per available room ('RevPAR'), average room rate ('ARR'), direct bookings/distribution, adjusted operating profit / (loss), return on capital employed ('ROCE'), adjusted pre-tax profit margins, adjusted profit / (loss) before tax, adjusted basic profit / earnings per share, net cash / (debt), net cash / (debt) and lease liabilities, lease-adjusted net debt / (cash), lease-adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDAR for leverage, adjusted operating cashflow, adjusted EBITDA (post-IFRS 16), adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) and adjusted EBITDAR. Further information can be found in the glossary and reconciliation of APMs at the end of this document.

 

Cautionary Statement

Nothing contained in this announcement is intended to constitute an offer, invitation or inducement to engage in an investment activity for the purposes of the prohibition on financial promotions under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. In making this announcement available, Whitbread PLC makes no recommendation to purchase, sell or otherwise deal in shares in Whitbread PLC or any other securities or investments whatsoever and you should neither rely nor act upon, directly or indirectly, any of the information contained in this announcement in respect of such investment activity.

 

No representations, express or implied, are given in, or in respect of, this announcement. To the extent permitted by law, Whitbread PLC, and its subsidiaries (together, the "Group") and its and their shareholders, affiliates, representatives, partners, directors, officers, employees, advisors or agents shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or loss of profit arising from the use of this announcement, its content or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

 

Certain statements included or incorporated by reference within this announcement may constitute "forward looking statements" in respect of the Group's operations, performance, prospects and/or financial condition. Forward looking statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as "momentum", "transform", "plan", "continue", "pathway", "roadmap", "transition", "anticipate" "intend", "expect", "target", "believe", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential ", "outlook", "future" or "accelerate" (including in their negative form) or similar terms and expressions. Such statements are made in good faith, based on Whitbread PLC's current expectations and beliefs concerning future events and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from any expected future events or results referred to in these forward looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: macroeconomic uncertainty; changes in law and regulations affecting our business; global supply chain disruptions; cyber and data security issues; fluctuating customer demand; any future health crisis and related responses, including government imposed travel or health-related restrictions; and other risks inherent to the industry in which the Group operates. Such statements are also based on numerous assumptions regarding the Group's present and future strategy and the environment in which it operates, which may not be accurate. Whitbread PLC undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements contained in this announcement or any other forward looking statements it may make.

 

Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast. Past performance cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial advisor.

 

Consolidated income statement

		52 weeks to 26 February 2026			52 weeks to 27 February 2025
		Adjusted	Adjusting items (Note 4)	Total		Adjusted	Adjusting items (Note 4)	Total
Continuing operations	Notes	£m	£m	£m		£m	£m	£m
Revenue	2	2,920.2	-	2,920.2		2,921.9	-	2,921.9
Other income		6.6	2.6	9.2		6.5	0.9	7.4
Operating costs	3	(2,282.6)	(187.3)	(2,469.9)		(2,303.5)	(116.5)	(2,420.0)
Operating profit before joint ventures		644.2	(184.7)	459.5		624.9	(115.6)	509.3
Share of profit from joint ventures		4.7	-	4.7		4.7	-	4.7
Operating profit	2	648.9	(184.7)	464.2		629.6	(115.6)	514.0
Finance costs	5	(200.3)	-	(200.3)		(188.5)	-	(188.5)
Finance income	5	34.5	-	34.5		42.3	-	42.3
Profit before tax	2	483.1	(184.7)	298.4		483.4	(115.6)	367.8
Tax expense	6	(123.2)	37.7	(85.5)		(134.4)	20.3	(114.1)
Profit for the year		359.9	(147.0)	212.9		349.0	(95.3)	253.7

 

		52 weeks to 26 February 2026			52 weeks to 27 February 2025
Earnings per share (Note 7)		pence	pence	pence	pence	pence	pence
Basic		208.5	(85.2)	123.3	194.6	(53.1)	141.5
Diluted		207.0	(84.6)	122.4	193.4	(52.8)	140.6

 

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

	Notes		52 weeks to 26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 £m
Profit for the year			212.9	253.7
Items that will not be reclassified to the income statement:
Remeasurement loss on defined benefit pension scheme	15		(11.3)	(51.7)
Current tax on defined benefit pension scheme	6		(1.7)	(1.8)
Deferred tax on defined benefit pension scheme	6		4.3	14.4
			(8.7)	(39.1)
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to the income statement:
Net gain/(loss) on cash flow hedges:
Net fair value movement			0.7	5.7
Reclassified and reported in the consolidated income statement			1.6	8.8
Deferred tax on cash flow hedges	6		(0.6)	(3.6)
Net gain on hedge of a net investment			(22.0)	16.1
Current tax on hedge of a net investment	6		3.3	(2.1)
(Credit)/costs in relation to hedging			(1.4)	1.1
			(18.4)	26.0
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations			29.2	(20.9)
Current tax on exchange differences on translation of foreign operations	6		(3.5)	2.4
			25.7	(18.5)
Other comprehensive loss for the year, net of tax			(1.4)	(31.6)
Total comprehensive income for the year, net of tax			211.5	222.1

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

	Share capital £m	Share premium £m	Capital redemption reserve £m	Retained earnings £m	Currency translation reserve £m	Other reserves £m	Total £m
At 29 February 2024	151.8	1,031.8	63.5	4,645.3	25.9	(2,398.9)	3,519.4
Profit for the year	-	-	-	253.7	-	-	253.7
Other comprehensive (loss)/income	-	-	-	(39.1)	(3.9)	11.4	(31.6)
Total comprehensive income/(loss)	-	-	-	214.6	(3.9)	11.4	222.1
Ordinary shares issued	0.1	7.0	-	-	-	-	7.1
Loss on ESOT shares issued	-	-	-	(8.1)	-	8.1	-
Accrued share-based payments	-	-	-	16.8	-	-	16.8
Tax on share-based payments	-	-	-	(0.8)	-	-	(0.8)
Equity dividends paid (Note 8)	-	-	-	(178.1)	-	-	(178.1)
Share buy-back, commitment and cancellation (Note 13)	(6.8)	-	6.8	(252.0)	-	-	(252.0)
Conversion of preference share capital	0.1	(0.1)	-	-	-	-	-
At 27 February 2025	145.2	1,038.7	70.3	4,437.7	22.0	(2,379.4)	3,334.5
Profit for the year	-	-	-	212.9	-	-	212.9
Other comprehensive (loss)/income	-	-	-	(8.7)	13.6	(6.3)	(1.4)
Total comprehensive income/(loss)	-	-	-	204.2	13.6	(6.3)	211.5
Ordinary shares issued	0.1	5.1	-	-	-	-	5.2
Loss on ESOT shares issued	-	-	-	(13.8)	-	13.8	-
Accrued share-based payments	-	-	-	16.7	-	-	16.7
Tax on share-based payments	-	-	-	(0.1)	-	-	(0.1)
Equity dividends paid (Note 8)	-	-	-	(168.8)	-	-	(168.8)
Share buy-back, commitment and cancellation (Note 13)	(6.7)	-	6.7	(251.3)	-	-	(251.3)
Purchase of ESOT shares	-	-	-	-	-	(11.3)	(11.3)
At 26 February 2026	138.6	1,043.8	77.0	4,224.6	35.6	(2,383.2)	3,136.4

 

Consolidated balance sheet

	Notes			26 February 2026 £m	27 February 2025 £m
Non-current assets
Intangible assets				161.0	174.3
Right-of-use assets				3,838.1	3,662.7
Property, plant and equipment	9			4,884.4	4,677.4
Investment in joint ventures				54.0	54.4
Deferred tax assets				3.0	-
Derivative financial instruments				0.1	-
Defined benefit pension surplus	15			131.9	134.6
				9,072.5	8,703.4
Current assets
Inventories				11.0	17.1
Derivative financial instruments				-	19.9
Current tax assets				6.2	-
Trade and other receivables				136.7	127.1
Cash and cash equivalents				233.7	909.0
				387.6	1,073.1
Assets classified as held for sale	11			108.5	128.2
Total assets				9,568.6	9,904.7
Current liabilities
Borrowings				-	450.0
Lease liabilities				175.6	167.0
Provisions				22.4	27.6
Derivative financial instruments				-	1.4
Current tax liabilities				1.7	12.2
Trade and other payables				689.7	660.8
				889.4	1,319.0
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings				943.0	942.4
Lease liabilities				4,347.5	4,066.8
Provisions				6.1	7.2
Derivative financial instruments				9.5	-
Deferred tax liabilities				236.7	234.8
				5,542.8	5,251.2
Total liabilities				6,432.2	6,570.2
Net assets				3,136.4	3,334.5
Equity
Share capital	13			138.6	145.2
Share premium				1,043.8	1,038.7
Capital redemption reserve				77.0	70.3
Retained earnings				4,224.6	4,437.7
Currency translation reserve				35.6	22.0
Other reserves				(2,383.2)	(2,379.4)
Total equity				3,136.4	3,334.5

 

 

Consolidated cash flow statement

	Notes		52 weeks to  26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to  27 February 2025 £m
Cash generated from operations	14		1,072.6	1,004.5
Payments against provisions			(21.9)	(15.5)
Defined benefit pension scheme payments	15		(6.3)	(17.9)
Interest paid on lease liabilities			(177.0)	(166.7)
Interest paid on other items			(43.6)	(26.0)
Interest received			28.7	33.5
Corporation taxes paid			(99.7)	(50.2)
Net cash flows from operating activities			752.8	761.7
Cash flows used in investing activities
Cash paid in advance for purchase of property			(21.8)	(12.2)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	2		(655.7)	(466.4)
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment			30.7	136.5
Proceeds from sale and leaseback of property			282.2	-
Investment in intangible assets	2		(19.7)	(19.6)
Payment of deferred and contingent consideration			-	(1.9)
Distributions received from joint ventures			1.4	1.2
Net cash flows used in investing activities			(382.9)	(362.4)
Cash flows used in financing activities
Proceeds from issue of ordinary shares			5.2	7.1
Proceeds from issuance of debt			-	398.3
Payment of facility fees and costs of long term borrowings			-	(3.1)
Net lease incentives received / (paid)			(3.1)	2.7
Payment of principal of lease liabilities			(172.9)	(148.7)
Drawdown of RCF short-term borrowings			50.0	-
Repayments of RCF short-term borrowings			(50.0)	-
Repayments of bonds			(450.0)	-
Net settlement of cross‑currency swaps			(3.8)	-
Net settlement of FX swaps			8.8	-
Dividends paid			(168.8)	(178.1)
Purchase of own shares, including transaction costs for buy-back programme			(250.4)	(264.3)
Purchase of own shares for ESOT			(11.3)	-
Net cash flows used in financing activities			(1,046.3)	(186.1)
Net (decrease) / increase in cash and cash equivalents	12		(676.4)	213.2
Opening cash and cash equivalents	12		909.0	696.7
Foreign exchange differences	12		1.1	(0.9)
Closing cash and cash equivalents			233.7	909.0

 

 

Notes to the consolidated financial statements

1. General information, basis of accounting and preparation

General information

The consolidated financial statements and preliminary announcement of Whitbread PLC for the year ended 26 February 2026 were authorised for issue in accordance with a resolution of the Board of Directors on 29 April 2026.

 

The financial year represents the 52 weeks to 26 February 2026 (prior financial year: 52 weeks to 27 February 2025).

 

The financial information included in this preliminary statement of results does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 435 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act"). The financial information for the year ended 26 February 2026 has been extracted from the statutory accounts on which an unqualified audit opinion has been issued. Statutory accounts for the year ended 26 February 2026 will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in advance of the Group's Annual General Meeting.

 

The statutory accounts for the year ended 27 February 2025, have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, and the Auditors of the Group made a report thereon under Chapter 3 of part 16 of the Act. That report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under sections 498 (2) or (3) of the Act.

 

The consolidated financial statements of Whitbread PLC and all its subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with international accounting standards in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and UK-adopted international accounting standards.

 

Accounting policies

The accounting policies adopted in the preparation of these consolidated financial statements are consistent with those followed in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 27 February 2025, except for the adoption of the new standards and interpretations that are applicable for the year ended 26 February 2026.

 

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements incorporate the accounts of Whitbread PLC and all its subsidiaries, together with the Group's share of the net assets and results of joint ventures incorporated using the equity method of accounting. These are adjusted, where appropriate, to conform to Group accounting policies.

 

A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the Group. Control is achieved when the Company:

·  has power over the investee;

·  is exposed, or has rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee; and

·  has the ability to use its power to affect its returns.

 

The Company reassesses whether or not it controls an investee if facts and circumstances indicate that there are changes to one or more of the three elements of control listed above.

 

Apart from the acquisition of Whitbread Group PLC by Whitbread PLC in 2000/01, which was accounted for using merger accounting, acquisitions by the Group are accounted for under the acquisition method and any goodwill arising is capitalised as an intangible asset. The results of subsidiaries acquired or disposed of during the year are included in the consolidated financial statements from, or up to, the date that control passes respectively. All intra-Group transactions, balances, income and expenses are eliminated on consolidation. Unrealised losses are also eliminated, unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred.

 

Going concern

The Group's and Company's (the "Group") business activities, together with the factors likely to affect future development, performance and position, are set out in the Business review. The Group's financial position, cash flows, liquidity and borrowing facilities are described in the Financial Review. The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Group are detailed in the Risks and uncertainties section.

 

The Directors have considered these areas alongside the principal risks and the potential impact on the Group's ability to continue as a Going Concern. Details of the Group's available and drawn facilities are provided in the Financial Review. At the year end, the Group held cash and cash equivalents of £233.7m and had access to committed borrowing facilities of £775.0m, of which £nil had been drawn.

 

The Group's forecasts demonstrate that it is expected to maintain significant financial resources and operate within its covenant for at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements.

 

In the event that additional funding was required, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that such funding could be secured through existing financing channels. The Directors have also considered the potential impact of climate -related factors on cash flows and liquidity over the period of the assessment and do not expect these to materially affect the Group's ability to continue to operate.

 

After due consideration of all relevant factors, the Directors are satisfied that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, being a period of at least 12 months from the date of signing these financial statements. Accordingly, the financial statements have been prepared on a Going Concern basis.

 

Adjusting items and use of alternative performance measures

We use a range of measures to monitor the financial performance of the Group. These measures include both statutory measures in accordance with IFRS and alternative performance measures ('APMs') which are consistent with the way the business performance is measured internally by the Board and Executive Committee. A glossary of APMs and reconciliations to statutory measures is given at the end of this report.

 

The term adjusted profit is not defined under IFRS and may not be directly comparable with adjusted profit measures used by other companies. It is not intended to be a substitute for, or superior to, statutory measures of profit. Adjusted measures of profitability are non-IFRS because they exclude amounts that are included in, or include amounts that are excluded from, the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS.

 

The Group makes certain adjustments to the statutory profit measures in order to derive many of its APMs. The Group's policy is to exclude items that are considered to be significant in nature and quantum, not in the normal course of business or are consistent with items that were treated as adjusting in prior periods or that span multiple financial periods. Treatment as an adjusting item provides users of the accounts with additional useful information to assess the year-on-year trading performance of the Group.

 

On this basis, the following are examples of items that may be classified as adjusting items:

·  net charges associated with the strategic review of the Group's hotel and restaurant property estate;

·  significant restructuring costs and other associated costs arising from strategy changes that are not considered by the Group to be part of the normal operating costs of the business;

·  significant pension charges arising as a result of changes to UK defined benefit scheme practices;

·  net impairment and related charges for sites which are/were underperforming that are considered to be significant in nature and/or value to the trading performance of the business;

·  costs in relation to non-trading legacy sites which are deemed to be significant and not reflective of the Group's ongoing trading results;

·  transformation and change costs associated with the implementation of the Group's IT strategic programme;

·  profit or loss on the sale of a business or investment, and the associated cost impact on the continuing business from the sale of the business or investment;

·  acquisition costs incurred as part of a business combination or other strategic asset acquisitions;

·  amortisation of intangible assets recognised as part of a business combination or other transaction outside of the ordinary course of business; and

·  tax settlements in respect of prior years, including the related interest and the impact of changes in the statutory tax rate, the inclusion of which would distort year-on-year comparability, as well as the tax impact of the adjusting items identified above.

 

The Group income statement is presented in a columnar format to enable users of the accounts to see the Group's performance before adjusting items, the adjusting items, and the statutory total on a line-by-line basis. The directors believe that the adjusted profit and earnings per share measures provide additional useful information to shareholders on the performance of the business. These measures are consistent with how business performance is measured internally by the Board and Executive Committee.

 

Changes in accounting policies

The Group has adopted the following standards and amendments for the first time for the annual reporting period commencing 1 March 2025, they have been assessed as not having a material financial impact on adoption:

·  Amendments to IAS 21 - Lack of Exchangeability (effective for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025). These amendments did not have a material impact on the Group's financial statements.

 

Standards issued by the IASB not effective for the current year and not early adopted by the Group

Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7 - Classification and measurement of financial instruments (effective for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026). The Group intends to apply the Amendment to IFRS 9 as issued by the IASB in May 2024 for the first time retrospectively in next year's Annual Report and Accounts, with the impact from this to the 2026 year-end cash at bank and in hand being a £69.1m increase in relation to committed payment runs where the derecognition of liabilities will be at the settlement date.

 

The impact of the following is under assessment: IFRS 18 Presentation and disclosure in financial statements, which will become effective in the consolidated Group financial statements for the financial year ending 26 February 2028.

 

Whilst the following standards and amendments are relevant to the Group, they have been assessed as not having a material financial impact or additional disclosure requirements at this time:

·  Annual improvements to IFRS - volume 11 (effective for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026)

·  IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without public accountability: Disclosures (effective for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027)

 

The Group does not intend to early adopt any of these new standards or amendments.

 

Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The following are the critical accounting judgements, apart from those involving estimations (dealt with separately below) that management has made in the process of applying the Group's accounting policies and which have the most significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements.

 

The Group has considered the impact of climate-related risks on its financial performance and position, and although the impact represents an uncertainty, it is not considered to be material.

 

Adjusting items

During the year certain items are identified and separately disclosed as adjusting items. Judgement is applied as to whether the item meets the necessary criteria as per the accounting policy disclosed earlier in this Note. This assessment covers the nature of the item, the cause of occurrence and the scale of impact of that item on reported performance. Reversals of previous adjusting items are assessed based on the same criteria. Note 4 provides information on all of the items disclosed as adjusting in the current year and comparative financial statements.

 

Assets held for sale

Assets are classified as held for sale only if the asset is available for immediate sale in their present condition and a sale is highly probable and expected to be completed within one year from the date of classification.

 

As a result of the Group's Accelerating Growth Plan ('AGP') the Group is actively marketing a significant number of sites. Judgement exists on a site-by-site basis as to whether the sale will complete within one year. In exercising its judgement management has taken into consideration all available information including external market expert advice.

 

Recognition of German Deferred Tax Asset

The Group, through its market entry in Germany, has generated tax losses that will be available for offset against future taxable profits. These losses have resulted in a material unrecognised deferred tax asset of £77.3m (unrecognised tax losses carried forward of £284.7m (€325.5m)) at this balance sheet date (2024/25: £80.9m). If the Group were to fully recognise the deferred tax asset in this financial year it would have the effect of reducing the Group's effective tax rate from 28.6% to 2.7%. The German reportable segment's results have continued to improve, with this forecast to continue in future reporting periods. However, the forecasts used to support whether sufficient positive evidence exists to recognise the deferred tax asset are instead based on

the German taxable profits profile. Following this assessment, the Group has judged that at the balance sheet date there remains to be insufficient convincing other evidence, as required under IAS 12, that it will have sufficient taxable profits to realise the above deferred tax asset at this time.

 

In July 2025, the German legislator substantively enacted a reduction to the corporate income tax rate by 1 percentage point per annum over a five-year period, commencing in 2028 and concluding in 2032. This phased reduction will lower the statutory corporate income tax rate from 15% to 10% by 2032. Trade taxes have not been amended and as a result the blended deferred tax rate applied to German losses under IAS 12 has reduced from 31.9% (2024/25) to 27.2% (2025/26). The unrecognised deferred tax asset above has been calculated accordingly.

 

Key sources of estimation uncertainty

The following are the key areas of estimation uncertainty that may have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

 

Defined benefit pension

Defined benefit pension plans are accounted for in accordance with actuarial advice using the projected unit credit method. The Group makes significant estimates in relation to the discount rates, mortality rates and inflation rates used to calculate the present value of the defined benefit obligation. Note 15 describes the assumptions used together with an analysis of the sensitivity to changes in key assumptions.

 

Impairment testing - Property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets

The performance of the Group's impairment review requires management to make a number of judgements and estimates which are presented together below for ease of understanding but identified separately:

 

Estimates within impairment testing:

Inputs used to estimate value in use

The estimate of value in use is most sensitive to the following inputs:

·  Forecast period cashflows - the initial five-year period's cashflows are drawn from the five-year business plan.

·  Discount rate - judgement is required in estimating the weighted average cost of capital ('WACC') of a typical market participant and in assessing the specific country and currency risks associated with the Group. The rate used is adjusted for the Group's gearing, including equity, borrowings and lease liabilities.

·  Maturity profile of individual sites - judgement is required to estimate the time taken for sites to reach maturity and the sites' trading level once they are mature.

 

Methodology used to estimate fair value

Fair value is determined using a range of methods, including present value techniques using assumptions consistent with the value in use calculations and market multiple techniques using externally available data. For the purpose of assessing fair value for sites the Group has sought expert valuations based on insight into local market specific factors.

 

Judgements within impairment testing:

Strategic impact on composition of CGUs

The Group exercises judgement in assessing the impairment of assets identified for disposal, particularly when they do not yet meet the criteria for classification as held for sale under IFRS 5. For such individual assets, where their value is primarily expected to be realised through sale and cash flows from continuing use are negligible, the Group applies IAS 36 to impair them to their fair value less costs of disposal. This approach reflects that

the economic value of these assets is predominantly derived from their impending sale, even if they form part of a larger cash-generating unit.

 

Identification of indicators of impairment and reversal

The Group assesses each of its CGUs for indicators of impairment or reversal at the end of each reporting period and, where there are indicators of impairment or reversal, management performs an impairment assessment.

 

Useful economic life review - AGP site extensions and conversions

Where site extensions or conversions are committed as part of Whitbread's Accelerating Growth Plan, the Group commences accelerated depreciation on assets that will no longer be used after the site redevelopment. The Group's key judgement here has been assessing that the trigger point for commitment to the extension or conversion is from the date that the site has both planning permission and an approved internal business case to proceed. From this point, the remaining useful life of affected assets is reassessed with an estimated end date aligned with when the asset will no longer be used. The resulting depreciation charge, along with any write-offs of similar assets that have been disposed of as at the balance sheet date, are treated as adjusting items.

 

Key estimates and sensitivities for impairment of assets are disclosed in Note 10.

 

2. Segment information

 

The Group provides services in relation to accommodation, food and beverage both in the UK and internationally. Management monitors the segment performance separately for the purpose of making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance. Segment performance is measured based on segment adjusted profit/(loss), defined below. Included within central and other in the following tables are the costs of running the public company, other central overhead costs and share of profit from joint ventures.

 

The following tables present revenue and profit information regarding business operating segments for the years ended 26 February 2026 and 27 February 2025.

 

52 weeks to 26 February 2026

52 weeks to 27 February 2025

 

Revenue	UK & Ireland1 £m	Germany2 £m	Central and other £m	Total £m	UK & Ireland1 £m	Germany2 £m	Central and other £m	Total £m
Accommodation	2,024.9	220.8	-	2,245.7	2,010.1	197.6	-	2,207.7
Food and beverage	594.8	32.5	-	627.3	646.4	26.7	-	673.1
Other items	39.6	7.6	-	47.2	34.8	6.3	-	41.1
Revenue	2,659.3	260.9	-	2,920.2	2,691.3	230.6	-	2,921.9

 

52 weeks to 26 February 2026

52 weeks to 27 February 2025

 

Profit/(loss)	UK & Ireland1 £m	Germany2 £m	Central and other £m	Total £m	UK & Ireland1 £m	Germany2 £m	Central and other £m	Total £m
Adjusted operating profit/(loss)	660.3	18.9	(30.3)	648.9	653.1	9.9	(33.4)	629.6
Segmental royalty fees3	(7.0)	5.9	1.1	-	(1.0)	-	1.0	-
Segment adjusted operating profit/(loss)	653.3	24.8	(29.2)	648.9	652.1	9.9	(32.4)	629.6
Net finance (costs)/income	(154.3)	(22.8)	11.3	(165.8)	(145.3)	(21.2)	20.3	(146.2)
Segment adjusted profit/(loss) before tax	499.0	2.0	(17.9)	483.1	506.8	(11.3)	(12.1)	483.4
Adjusting items before tax (Note 4)				(184.7)				(115.6)
Profit before tax				298.4				367.8

 

¹ The UK and Ireland segment includes operations of the Group within Crown Dependencies. Royalty fees are charged between the geographies within this segment.

² The Germany segment includes operations of the Group within Austria.

³ Royalty fees are charged from the UK to other geographies, prior to this financial year inter-segmental royalty fees were waived for the Germany segment.

 

52 weeks to 26 February 2026

52 weeks to 27 February 2025

 

Other segment information	UK & Ireland1 £m	Germany2 £m	Central and other £m	Total £m	UK & Ireland1 £m	Germany2 £m	Central and other £m	Total £m
Capital expenditure:
Property, plant and equipment - cash basis	567.3	88.4	-	655.7	399.6	66.8	-	466.4
Property, plant and equipment - accruals basis	595.9	111.7	-	707.6	402.0	63.3	-	465.3
Intangible assets	18.2	1.5	-	19.7	18.9	0.7	-	19.6
Cash outflows from lease interest and payment of principal of lease liabilities	289.5	60.4	-	349.9	262.4	53.0	-	315.4
Depreciation - property, plant and equipment	168.4	16.0	-	184.4	162.7	14.6	-	177.3
Depreciation - right-of-use assets	164.9	43.7	-	208.6	152.8	41.5	-	194.3
Amortisation	32.8	0.4	-	33.2	30.1	0.1	-	30.2

 

Segment assets and liabilities are not disclosed because they are not reported to, or reviewed by, the Chief Operating Decision Maker.

 

The Group's revenue, split by country in which the legal entity resides, is as follows:	52 weeks to 26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 £m
United Kingdom	2,611.0	2,649.1
Germany	256.8	226.3
Ireland	35.9	29.6
Other	16.5	16.9
	2,920.2	2,921.9

 

 

 

The Group's non-current assets1, split by country in which the legal entity resides, are as follows:	52 weeks to 26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 £m
United Kingdom	7,224.4	7,063.3
Germany	1,387.3	1,219.4
Ireland	217.6	179.4
Other	108.2	106.7
	8,937.5	8,568.8

¹ Non-current assets exclude derivative financial instruments, deferred tax assets and the surplus on the Group's defined benefit pension scheme.

 

3. Operating costs

			52 weeks to 26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 £m
Cost of inventories recognised as an expense			215.1	225.7
Employee benefits expense			801.6	818.7
Amortisation of intangible assets			33.2	30.2
Depreciation - property, plant and equipment (Note 9)			184.4	177.3
Depreciation - right-of-use-assets			208.6	194.3
Utilities			119.4	134.8
Rates			106.7	105.4
Laundry costs			79.6	78.0
Site repairs and maintenance			131.7	131.5
Marketing and commissions			141.4	127.6
Site operating costs			154.1	157.0
Variable lease payment expense			3.5	4.0
Net foreign exchange differences			(0.5)	0.5
Other operating charges			103.8	118.5
Adjusting operating costs (Note 4)			187.3	116.5
			2,469.9	2,420.0

 

4. Adjusting items

 

As set out in the policy in Note 1, we use a range of measures to monitor the financial performance of the Group. These measures include both statutory measures in accordance with IFRS and APMs which are consistent with the way that the business performance is measured internally. We report adjusted measures because we believe they provide both management and investors with useful additional information about the financial performance of the Group's businesses. Adjusted measures of profitability represent the equivalent IFRS measures adjusted for specific items that we consider hinder the comparison of the financial performance of the Group's businesses either from one period to another or with other similar businesses.

 

		52 weeks to 26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 £m
Other income:
Legal claim settlements and insurance proceeds1		2.6	0.9
Adjusting other income		2.6	0.9
Operating costs:
Net impairment charges - property, plant and equipment, right-of-use assets and assets held for sale2		(32.0)	(33.0)
Accelerating Growth Plan-related net impairment charges and write-offs3		(130.5)	(43.5)
Net gains on disposals of property4		6.4	40.1
Property and other provisions5		(14.3)	(4.4)
Strategic IT programme costs6		(8.0)	(24.8)
Strategic F&B programme costs7		(4.3)	(19.9)
Strategic supply chain programme costs8		(2.9)	(24.1)
Employment tax settlement9		-	2.0
Other restructuring costs10		(1.7)	(8.9)
Adjusting operating costs before joint ventures		(187.3)	(116.5)
Adjusting items before tax		(184.7)	(115.6)
Tax on adjusting items11		35.6	20.3
Impact of change in tax rates12		2.1	-
Adjusting tax credit		37.7	20.3

 

 

¹ During the year, the Group received settlements of £2.6m in relation to insurance claims for damaged inventory (2024/25: received settlements for business interruption insurance claims of £0.9m).

 

² The Group has identified indicators of impairment and impairment reversal relating to assets held by the Group at the year-end date, including those sites impacted by the Accelerating Growth Plan (see footnote 3 below). For those sites not impacted by the Accelerating Growth Plan, an impairment review of relevant assets was undertaken, resulting in adjusting net impairment charges of £32.0m (2024/25: £33.0m).

Further information is provided in Note 10.

 

³ Included in the amounts recorded during the period are impairments arising from the Group's continued optimisation of its UK F&B strategy, the Accelerating Growth Plan. The net impairment of £130.5m comprises impairment charges of £102.9m relating to sites and accelerated depreciation of £27.6m (2024/25: Impairment of £43.5m including £1.0m relating to accelerated depreciation).

Further information on impairment is provided in Note 10.

 

⁴ During the year, the Group recognised net gains of £4.8m on sale and leaseback property disposals (2024/25: £0.1m) and net gains of £1.6m on other property disposals (2024/25: £40.0m). No gains or losses relating to these assets were recognised in other comprehensive income.

 

⁵ The Group recorded a £15.2m property-related provision and released £0.9m of provisions in respect of historic tax positions. During the comparative year, the group created a provision in relation to damaged inventory of £4.4m.

 

⁶ The Group has assessed the presentation of costs incurred in relation to the current and future implementation of its strategic IT programmes. The programmes in scope are the Group's Hotel Management System, HR & Payroll System, F&B System and Strategic Network. These represent significant business change costs for the Group rather than replacements of IT systems with the system products being Software as a Service (SaaS).

Cash costs incurred on the programmes and presented within adjusting items in the period were £8.0m, with cumulative cash costs to date being £73.7m (2024/25: £65.7m).

 

⁷ The Group has incurred legal, advisory and project management costs regarding the announced changes to facilitate the Accelerating Growth Plan (AGP) as well as restructuring costs. This programme represents a significant business change for the Group's strategic focus in relation to F&B.

Cash costs incurred on the programmes and presented within adjusting items in the period were £4.3m, with cumulative cash costs to date being £30.1m (2024/25: £25.8m).

 

⁸ As part of the Group's strategic supply chain programme the Group has incurred costs of £2.9m in relation to associated IT and project management costs (2024/25: £24.1m relating to supplier contract exit fees). This decision allows the Group to make use of a different supply model and it is expected the commercial and strategic benefit will be seen over several years.

 

⁹ During the comparative year, the Group received confirmation that a previous enquiry from HMRC on historic taxes has been closed. £2.0m has been released through adjusting items from accruals held in relation to these enquiries.

 

¹⁰ During the year, the Group restructured its UK Contact Centre, resulting in a charge of £1.7m. During the comparative year, restructuring of the UK and Germany Support Centres and site operations in Germany resulted in a charge of £8.9m.

 

¹¹ The Group recognised tax credits of £35.6m (2024/25: £20.3m) in relation to its adjusting items in the financial year. This includes a deferred tax charge of £8.4m (2024/25: nil) in the year arising from changes in the recoverability of indexation allowances in relation to property.

 

¹² In July 2025, the German government substantively enacted legislation to reduce the corporate income tax rate by 1% per annum over a five-year period, commencing in 2028 and concluding in 2032. The change has resulted in the remeasurement of certain deferred tax assets and liabilities which are forecast to be utilised or to crystallise from 2028. As a result, a credit of £2.1m is recorded in the income statement.

 

Summary of adjusting item lines that can be forecast:

 

	Expected year of completion	Low range £m	High range £m
Accelerating Growth Plan-related net impairment charges and write-off	FY29	50.0	70.0
Strategic F&B programme costs	FY29	20.0	30.0
Strategic IT programme costs	FY27	5.0	10.0
Forecast adjusting items before tax		75.0	110.0

 

5. Finance (costs)/income

 

		52 weeks to 26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 £m
Finance costs
Interest on bank loans and overdrafts		(5.0)	(4.7)
Interest on other loans		(42.7)	(24.7)
Interest on lease liabilities		(177.0)	(166.7)
Interest capitalised		23.0	8.7
Credit/(costs) in relation to hedging		1.4	(1.1)
		(200.3)	(188.5)
Finance income
Bank interest receivable		26.8	33.5
IAS 19 pension net finance income (Note 15)		7.5	8.3
Other interest receivable		0.2	0.5
		34.5	42.3
Total net finance costs		(165.8)	(146.2)

 

6. Taxation

Consolidated income statement	52 weeks to 26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 £m
Current tax:
Current tax expense	83.9	51.4
Adjustments in respect of previous years	(1.2)	(1.1)
	82.7	50.3
Deferred tax:
Origination and reversal of temporary differences	3.8	63.1
Effect of in-year rate differential/change in tax rates	(2.1)	-
Adjustments in respect of previous years	1.1	0.7
	2.8	63.8
Tax reported in the consolidated income statement	85.5	114.1

 

Consolidated statement of other comprehensive income	52 weeks to 26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 £m
Current tax:
Defined benefit pension scheme	1.7	1.8
Tax on net movement on hedge of a net investment	(3.3)	2.1
Tax on exchange differences on translation of foreign operations	3.5	(2.4)
	1.9	1.5
Deferred tax:
Cash flow hedges	0.6	3.6
Defined benefit pension scheme	(4.3)	(14.4)
	(3.7)	(10.8)
Tax reported in other comprehensive income	(1.8)	(9.3)

 

A reconciliation of the tax expense applicable to adjusted profit before tax and profit before tax at the statutory tax rate, to the actual tax expense at the Group's effective tax rate, for the years ended 26 February 2026 and 27 February 2025 respectively is set out here. All current year items have been tax effected at the UK statutory rate of 25.0% (2024/25: 25.0%) with the exception of the effect of unrecognised losses in overseas companies, which has been tax effected at the statutory rate in the relevant jurisdictions with an adjustment to account for the differential tax rates included in the effect of different tax rates.

 

	2025/26	2025/26	2024/25	2024/25
	Tax on adjusted profit £m	Tax on profit £m	Tax on adjusted profit £m	Tax on profit £m
Profit before tax as reported in the consolidated income statement	483.1	298.4	483.4	367.8
Tax at current UK tax rate of 25.0% (FY25: 25.0%)	120.8	74.6	120.9	92.0
Effect of different tax rates	(3.3)	(3.1)	(2.7)	(4.5)
Unrecognised losses in overseas companies	5.1	10.4	9.3	17.6
Expenditure not allowable	1.2	1.9	3.3	5.4
Adjustments to current tax expense in respect of previous years	(1.2)	(1.2)	(1.0)	(1.0)
Adjustments to deferred tax expense in respect of previous years	1.0	1.0	0.7	0.7
Impact of deferred tax being at a different rate from current tax rate	-	(2.1)	-	-
Impact of deferred tax related to indexation allowance	0.3	8.7	2.7	2.7
Property disposals and sale and leaseback	-	(4.0)	-	-
Other movements	(0.7)	(0.7)	1.2	1.2
Tax expense reported in the consolidated income statement	123.2	85.5	134.4	114.1
Effective tax rate	25.5%	28.7%	27.8%	31.0%

 

Pillar Two

The Group is within the scope of the OECD Pillar Two rules. Based on the Group's current assessment, Pillar Two is not expected to have a material impact on the Group's tax charge. The Group has applied the mandatory temporary exception in respect of deferred taxes arising from Pillar Two income taxes, as required by IAS 12.

 

Deferred tax

The Group has unrecognised German tax losses of £284.7m (€325.5m) (2024/25: £253.6m (€307.3m)) which can be carried forward indefinitely and offset against future taxable profits in the same tax group. The Group carries out an assessment of the recoverability of these losses at the reporting period and, to the extent that they exceed tax liabilities within the same tax group, does not deem it appropriate at this stage to recognise any net German deferred tax asset. Please refer to the Critical Accounting Judgement within Note 1 for further information. Recognition of German deferred tax assets in their entirety would result in an increase in the reported deferred tax asset of £77.3m (2024/25: £80.9m).

 

7. Earnings per share

 

The basic earnings per share (EPS) figures are calculated by dividing the net profit/(loss) for the year attributable to ordinary shareholders of the parent by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year after deducting treasury shares and shares held by an independently managed employee share ownership trust (ESOT).

 

The diluted earnings per share figures allow for the dilutive effect of the conversion into ordinary shares of the weighted average number of options outstanding during the year. Where the average share price for the year is lower than the option price, the options become anti-dilutive and are excluded from the calculation.

 

The number of shares used for the earnings per share calculations are as follows:

 

		52 weeks to 26 February 2026 million	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 million
Basic weighted average number of ordinary shares		172.6	179.3
Effect of dilution - share options		1.3	1.2
Diluted weighted average number of ordinary shares		173.9	180.5

 

The total number of shares in issue at the reporting period date, as used in the calculation of the basic weighted average number of ordinary shares, was 180.1m, less 12.5m treasury shares held by Whitbread PLC and 0.6m held by the ESOT.

 

The profits used for the earnings per share calculations are as follows:
		52 weeks to 26 February 2026 £m	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 £m
Profit for the year attributable to parent shareholders		212.9	253.7
Adjusting items before tax (Note 4)		184.7	115.6
Adjusting tax credit (Note 4)		(37.7)	(20.3)
Adjusted profit for the year attributable to parent shareholders		359.9	349.0

 

		52 weeks to 26 February 2026 Pence	52 weeks to 27 February 2025 pence
Basic EPS on profit for the year		123.3	141.5
Adjusting items before tax		107.0	64.4
Adjusting tax credit		(21.8)	(11.3)
Basic EPS on adjusted profit for the year		208.5	194.6
Diluted EPS on profit for the year		122.4	140.6
Diluted EPS on adjusted profit for the year		207.0	193.4

 

8. Dividends paid and proposed

	52 weeks to 26 February 2026		52 weeks to 27 February 2025
	pence per share	£m	pence per share	£m
Final dividend, proposed and paid, relating to the prior year	60.60	106.5	62.90	114.7
Interim dividend, proposed and paid, for the current year	36.40	62.3	36.40	65.2
Unclaimed dividend written back	-	-	n/a	(2.1)
Total equity dividends paid in the year on ordinary shares		168.8		177.8
Dividends on other shares:
B shares	-	-	11.40	0.2
C shares	-	-	7.60	0.1
Total dividends paid		168.8		178.1
Proposed for approval at annual general meeting:
Proposed final equity dividend for the current year	60.60	101.3	60.60	106.4

 

A final dividend of 60.60p per share amounting to a dividend of £101.3m was recommended by the directors at their meeting on 29 April 2026. A dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) alternative will be offered. The proposed final dividend is subject to approval by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting and has not been included as a liability in these consolidated financial statements.

 

9. Property, plant and equipment

 

During the reporting period the Group has had additions of £707.6m (FY25: £465.3m), depreciation charges of £184.4m (FY25: £177.3m), net impairment charges of £130.3m (FY25: £48.3m), net movements to assets held for sale of £247.5m (FY25: to held for sale of £167.0m), capitalised interest cost of £23.0m (FY25: £8.7m), net book value disposed of £nil (FY25: £0.1m) and an increase of net book value from foreign currency translation of £38.6m (FY25: reduction of £22.5m).

 

Included in property, plant and equipment are assets under construction of £827.6m (2024/25: £612.5m) land and buildings and £126.8m (2024/25: £69.7m) plant and equipment.

 

There is a charge in favour of the pension scheme over properties with a market value of £531.5m (FY25: £531.5m).

 

Capital expenditure commitments

		26 February 2026	27 February 2025
		£m	£m
Capital expenditure commitments for property, plant and equipment for which no provision has been made		370.0	271.8

 

10. Impairment

 

During this year, net impairment charges of £162.5m (FY25: £76.5m) were recognised within operating costs.

 

Accelerating Growth Plan:

Net impairment, write-offs and accelerated depreciation of £130.5m (2024/25: £43.5m) has been recognised in respect of the Group continuing with and proposing an extension to the Accelerating Growth Plan (AGP).

 

UK:

Outside of Accelerating Growth Plan-related impairments, gross impairment charges in the UK of £15.5m (2024/25: £15.8m) and no gross impairment reversals in the UK (2024/25: £5.3m) have been recorded across right-of-use assets and property, plant and equipment.

 

Germany:

The Group continues to make progress through organic and portfolio acquisitions in order to access German markets, with FY26 performance reflecting the increased maturity of open sites. Impairment indicators were identified at a small number of German sites, following which the Group has updated relevant cash flow assumptions which has resulted in a net impairment charge of £16.5m (FY25: £22.5m impairment charge).

 

The charges/(reversals) were recognised on the following classes of assets:

2025/26	Impairment charge	Impairment reversal
			Total
	£m	£m	£m
Impairment charges/(reversals) included in operating costs
Property, plant and equipment1	132.7	(2.4)	130.3
Accelerating Growth Plan sites	117.6	(2.4)
Rest of estate	15.1	-
Right-of-use assets	21.4	(0.1)	21.3
Accelerating Growth Plan sites	4.5	(0.1)
Rest of estate	16.9	-
Assets held for sale	10.9	-	10.9
Accelerating Growth Plan sites	10.9	-
Total charges/(reversals) for impairment included in operating costs	165.0	(2.5)	162.5

¹The net impairment charge of £130.3m above includes £27.6m of accelerated depreciation in relation to the Extensions programme.

 

2024/25	Impairment charge	Impairment reversal
			Total
	£m	£m	£m
Impairment charges/(reversals) included in operating costs
Property, plant and equipment	52.8	(3.5)	49.3
Accelerating Growth Plan sites	30.6	(1.5)
Rest of estate	22.2	(2.0)
Right-of-use assets	29.3	(4.0)	25.3
Accelerating Growth Plan sites	13.2	(0.7)
Rest of estate	16.1	(3.3)
Assets held for sale	7.2	(5.3)	1.9
Accelerating Growth Plan sites	7.2	(5.3)
Total charges/(reversals) for impairment included in operating costs	89.3	(12.8)	76.5

 

All of the impairment assessments take account of expected market conditions which include future risks including climate change and related legislation.

 

Methodology in relation to the Group's Accelerating Growth Plan

The Group has announced a proposed extension to the Accelerating Growth Plan. When considered together, the existing and proposed extension to AGP have had the following impact on the Group's impairment review:

 

Extensions programme:

As part of the Group's Extensions programme, certain branded restaurant units are being repurposed, with smaller areas dedicated to integrated food and beverage services and where appropriate the remaining space converted to additional hotel rooms. The composition of the CGU remains unchanged.

 

During the year, planning applications were submitted for a number of sites, with approvals received for some locations. The useful economic lives of relevant buildings and FF&E have been reassessed based on the status of planning approvals and commencement of works. Where all relevant internal and external approvals have been obtained, the carrying value of the related assets is written down accordingly.

 

During the year, £27.6m was written off. The Group expects to incur further charges of between £50.0m and £70.0m over the coming financial years.

 

Disposal sites:

Disposal sites that were actively marketed at the year end, with a valid expectation of disposal within 12 months of the balance sheet date, have been classified as assets held for sale. As the economic benefits of these sites are expected to be realised principally through sale rather than continuing use, they have been measured at the lower of carrying value and fair value less costs of disposal. The remaining net book value of £39.2m (2024/25: £68.0m) is presented within assets held for sale.

 

The Group has announced its proposed extension to AGP, and there is an expectation that the committed plan to dispose of a further group of sites to third parties will take place. These disposal sites do not meet the criteria for classification as assets held for sale, but are measured at the lower of carrying value and net realisable value as the individual assets' VIU is estimated to be close to its now measurable fair value less costs of disposal. In these cases, net realisable value is represented by FVLCD. With the announcement of the proposed extension to the Accelerating Growth Plan the Group has recorded an impairment of £75.4m.

 

11. Assets classified as held for sale

The following table present the major classes of assets and liabilities classified as held for sale:

 

		26 February 2026 £m	27 February 2025 £m
Property, plant and equipment		109.2	128.8
Right-of-use assets		1.4	1.1
Lease liabilities		(2.1)	(1.7)
Assets classified as held for sale		108.5	128.2

 

At the year end, there were 86 sites with a combined net book value of £108.5m (2024/25: 107 with net book value of £128.2m) classified as assets held for sale (AHFS). There are no gains or losses recognised in other comprehensive income with respect to these assets. The value and number of assets held for sale are both heightened by the Group's continued commitment to the Accelerating Growth Plan.

 

Sites are classified as held for sale only if they are available for immediate sale in their present condition and a sale is highly probable and expected to be completed within one year from the date of classification. Where there has been a delay in disposing of a site, the Group remains committed to its plan to sell the asset. If a site no longer meets this criteria at future reporting dates it is transferred back to property, plant and equipment.

 

12. Movements in cash and net debt

	27 February 2025	Share buy-back commitments including transaction costs	Cash flow	Net new lease liabilities	Foreign exchange	Impact of fair value hedge	Cost of borrowings and amortisation of premiums and discounts	26 February 2026
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Cash and cash equivalents	909.0	-	(676.4)	-	1.1	-	-	233.7
Liabilities from financing activities:
Borrowings	(1,392.4)	-	450.0	-	-	1.1	(1.7)	(943.0)
Lease liabilities	(4,233.8)	-	172.9	(411.2)	(51.0)	-	-	(4,523.1)
Committed share buy-back	-	(250.4)	250.4	-	-	-	-	-
Total liabilities from financing activities	(5,626.2)	(250.4)	873.3	(411.2)	(51.0)	1.1	(1.7)	(5,466.1)
Less: lease liabilities	4,233.8	-	(172.9)	411.2	51.0	-	-	4,523.1
Less: committed share buy-back	-	250.4	(250.4)	-	-	-	-	-
Net debt	(483.4)	-	(226.4)	-	1.1	1.1	(1.7)	(709.3)

 

13. Share capital

Ordinary share capital

Allotted, called up and fully paid ordinary shares of 76.80p each (FY25: 76.80p each)	million	£m
At 27 February 2025	188.8	145.2
Issued on exercise of employee share options	0.1	0.1
Cancellations following share buy-back	(8.8)	(6.7)
At 26 February 2026	180.1	138.6

 

Share buy-back, commitment and cancellation

The Company purchased and cancelled 8.8m (2024/25: 8.9m) shares with a nominal value of £6.7m (2024/25: £6.8m) under the share buy-back programmes running through this financial year. Consideration of £250.4m (2024/25: £264.3m), including associated fees and stamp duty of £1.2m (2024/25: £2.0m), was paid during the year with fees of £0.9m accrued for (2024/25: £nil).

 

Share Forfeiture

The Group has implemented a share forfeiture programme following the completion of a tracing and notification exercise to any shareholders who have not had contact with the Company over the past 12 years, in accordance with the provisions set out in the Company's articles of association. Under the share forfeiture programme the shares and dividends associated with shares of untraced members have been forfeited.

Other than shares issued in the normal course of business as part of the share-based payments schemes, there have been no transactions involving ordinary shares or potential ordinary shares since the reporting date and before the completion of these consolidated financial statements.

 

14. Analysis of cash flows given in the cash flow statement

 

		52 weeks to  26 February 2026	52 weeks to  27 February 2025
		£m	£m
Profit for the year		212.9	253.7
Adjustments for:
Tax expense		85.5	114.1
Net finance costs		165.8	146.2
Share of profit from joint ventures		(4.7)	(4.7)
Depreciation and amortisation		426.2	401.8
Share-based payments		16.7	16.8
Net impairment charge (Note 10)		162.5	76.5
Net gain on disposals of property		(6.4)	(40.1)
Other non-cash items		23.6	35.6
Cash generated from operations before working capital changes		1,082.1	999.9
Decrease in inventories		6.2	4.1
(Increase)/Decrease in trade and other receivables		(1.1)	4.1
Decrease in trade and other payables		(14.6)	(3.6)
Cash generated from operations		1,072.6	1,004.5

 

15. Retirement benefits

 

Defined benefit scheme

During the year, the defined benefit pension scheme has moved from a surplus of £134.6m to a surplus of £131.9m. The main movements in the surplus are as follows:

 

			£m
Pension surplus at 27 February 2025			134.6
Administrative expenses			(5.2)
Net interest on pension liability and assets (Note 5)			7.5
Losses recognised in other comprehensive income			(11.3)
Contributions from employer			6.1
Benefits paid directly by the Company in relation to an unfunded pension scheme			0.2
Pension surplus at 26 February 2026			131.9

 

The principal assumptions used by the independent qualified actuaries in updating the most recent valuation carried out as at 31 March 2025 of the UK scheme to 26 February 2026 for IAS 19 Employee Benefits purposes (2024/25: 31 March 2023 of the UK scheme to 27 February 2025) were:

 

			26 February 2026	27 February 2025
Pre-April 2006 rate of increase in pensions in payment			2.90%	3.00%
Post-April 2006 rate of increase in pensions in payment			2.00%	2.10%
Pension increases in deferment			2.90%	3.00%
Discount rate			5.50%	5.50%
Inflation assumption			3.00%	3.20%
Life expectancies
Retiring at the balance sheet date at age 65 - male			19.9 years	19.7 years
Retiring at the balance sheet date at age 65 - female			23.0 years	22.4 years
Retiring at the balance sheet date in 20 years at age 65 - male			20.8 years	20.7 years
Retiring at the balance sheet date in 20 years at age 65 - female			24.2 years	23.5 years

 

The life expectancies shown above are based on standard mortality tables which allow for future mortality improvements. The mortality improvements assumption has been updated to use the CMI 2024 model with appropriate parameterisation (2024/25: CMI 2023).

 

The assumptions in relation to discount rate, mortality and inflation have a significant effect on the measurement of scheme liabilities. The following table shows the sensitivity of the valuation to changes in these assumptions:

 

			(Increase)/decrease in net  defined benefit surplus		Decrease/(increase) in gross defined benefit liability
			26 February 2026	27 February 2025	26 February 2026	27 February 2025
			£m	£m	£m	£m
Discount rate
1.00% increase to discount rate			(125.0)	(131.0)	158.0	165.0
1.00% decrease to discount rate			152.0	159.0	(189.0)	(199.0)
Inflation
0.25% increase to inflation rate			26.0	23.0	(32.0)	(29.0)
0.25% decrease to inflation rate			(25.0)	(23.0)	31.0	29.0
Life expectancy
Additional one-year increase to life expectancy			36.0	38.0	(56.0)	(60.0)

 

The above sensitivity analyses are based on a change in an assumption whilst holding all other assumptions constant. In practice, this is unlikely to occur and changes in some of the assumptions may be correlated. Where the discount rate is changed this will have an impact on the valuation of scheme assets in the opposing direction.

 

16. Contingent liabilities

               

The Group previously stated that it was involved in legal proceedings in relation to a third-party intellectual property claim, this matter was successfully defended during the current period and the Group no longer deems this to be a contingent liability.

 

The Group has updated it's accounting policy in relation to property-related remediation, clarifying its accounting treatment in this area, as well as having created related provisions in the financial year.

 

17. Events after the balance sheet date

 

Accelerating Growth Plan                                                                                                  

The results include the announcement of the proposed extension of the Accelerating Growth Plan to optimise UK F&B to include all of the Group's remaining branded restaurants.

Glossary

 

Basic earnings per share (Basic EPS)

Profit attributable to the parent shareholders divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year after deducting treasury shares and shares held by an independently managed share ownership trust ('ESOT').

 

Cash rent

The total of interest paid on lease liabilities, payment of principal of lease liabilities and variable lease payments, adjusted to reflect one year's rent.

 

Committed pipeline

Sites where the Group has a legal interest in a property (that may be subject to planning/other conditions) with the intention of opening a hotel in the future. Freehold sites where we currently have a legal interest (either through agreement to purchase subject to conditions, or where we have acquired the land/building), however management have agreed to sell the site, will be removed from the committed pipeline at the point the decision has been made to sell.

 

Direct bookings / distribution

Based on stayed bookings in the financial year made direct to the Premier Inn website, Premier Inn app, Premier Inn customer contact centre or hotel front desks.

 

Food and beverage (F&B) sales

Food and beverage revenue from all Whitbread owned restaurants and integrated hotel restaurants.

 

GOSH charity

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.

 

IFRS

International Financial Reporting Standards.

 

Lease debt

In line with methodology used by our credit rating agency, lease-adjusted net debt includes lease debt. Lease debt is calculated at eight times cash rent.

 

Occupancy

Number of hotel bedrooms occupied by guests expressed as a percentage of the number of bedrooms available in the year.

 

Operating profit

Profit before net finance costs and tax.

 

OTA's

Online travel agents.

 

Rent expense

Rental costs recognised in the income statement prior to the adoption of IFRS 16.

 

Team retention

The number of permanent new starters that we retain for the first 90 days/three months.

 

Trading site

A joint hotel and restaurant or a standalone hotel.

 

Segment adjusted operating profit/(loss)

The adjusted operating profit/(loss) excludes the impact of segmental royalty fees charged from the UK to other segments to aid comparability of segment performance.

 

WINcard

Whitbread In Numbers - balanced scorecard to measure progress against key performance targets.

 

YourSay

Whitbread's annual employee opinion survey to provide insight into the views of employees.

 

†Alternative Performance Measures

We use a range of measures to monitor the financial performance of the Group. These measures include both statutory measures in accordance with IFRS and alternative performance measures (APMs) which are consistent with the way that the business performance is measured internally.

 

APMs are not defined by IFRS and therefore may not be directly comparable with similarly titled measures reported by other companies. APMs should be considered in addition to, and are not intended to be a substitute for, or superior to, IFRS measures. Adjusted measures of profitability represent the equivalent IFRS measures adjusted for specific items that we consider relevant for comparison of the Group's business either from one period to another or with similar businesses. We report adjusted measures because we believe they provide both management and investors with useful additional information about the financial performance of the Group's businesses.

 

 

APM	Closest equivalent IFRS measure	Adjustments to reconcile to IFRS measure	Definition and purpose
REVENUE MEASURES
Accommodation sales	Revenue	Exclude non-room revenue such as food and beverage	Premier Inn accommodation revenue excluding non-room income such as food and beverage. The growth in accommodation sales on a year-on-year basis is a good indicator of the performance of the business. Reconciliation: Note 2

 

Average room rate (ARR)

No direct equivalent

Refer to definition

Accommodation sales divided by the number of rooms occupied by guests. The directors consider this to be a useful measure as this is a commonly used industry metric which facilitates comparison between companies.

 

			Reconciliation	52 weeks to 26 February 2026	52 weeks to 27 February 2025
			UK accommodation sales (£m)	2,024.9	2,010.1
			Number of rooms occupied by guests ('000)	24,710	25,279
			UK average room rate (£)	81.95	79.52
			Germany accommodation sales (£m)	220.8	197.6
			Number of rooms occupied by guests ('000)	2,811	2,631
			Germany average room rate (£)	78.53	75.08

 

UK like-for-like accommodation sales growth

Movement in accommodation sales per the segment information (Note 2)

Accommodation sales from non like-for-like

Year over year change in accommodation revenue for outlets open for at least one year with no significant changes in room numbers. The directors consider this to be a useful measure as it is a commonly used performance metric and provides an indication of underlying revenue trends.

 

			Reconciliation	52 weeks to 26 February 2026	52 weeks to 27 February 2025
			UK like-for-like accommodation sales growth	0.2%	(2.0%)
			Impact of extensions > 5% of rooms	0.1%	0.0%
			Contribution from net new hotels	0.4%	2.1%
			UK accommodation sales growth	0.7%	0.1%

 

Revenue per available room (RevPAR)

No direct equivalent

Refer to definition

Revenue per available room is also known as 'yield'. This hotel measure is achieved by dividing accommodation sales by the number of rooms available. The directors consider this to be a useful measure as it is a commonly used performance measure in the hotel industry.

 

			Reconciliation	52 weeks to 26 February 2026	52 weeks to 27 February 2025
			UK accommodation sales (£m)	2,024.9	2,010.1
			Available rooms ('000)	31,244	31,206
			UK REVPAR (£)	64.81	64.42
			Germany Accommodation sales (£m)	220.8	197.6
			Available rooms ('000)	4,074	3,882
			Germany REVPAR (£)	54.19	50.90

 

INCOME STATEMENT MEASURES
Adjusted operating profit/loss	Profit/loss before tax	Adjusting items (Note 4), finance income/costs (Note 5)	Profit/loss before tax, finance costs/income and adjusting items Reconciliation: Consolidated income statement

 

Adjusted1 tax

Tax expense/credit

Adjusting items (Note 4)

Tax expense/credit before adjusting items. Reconciliation: Consolidated income statement

 

Adjusted profit/loss before tax

Profit/loss before tax

Adjusting items (Note 4)

Profit/loss before tax and adjusting items. Reconciliation: Consolidated income statement

 

 

Adjusted basic EPS

Basic EPS

Adjusting items (Note 4)

Adjusted profit attributable to the parent shareholders divided by the basic weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year after deducting treasury shares and shares held by an independently managed share ownership trust (ESOT). Reconciliation: Note 7

 

Profit/PBT margin	No direct equivalent	Refer to definition	Segmental adjusted profit before tax divided by segmental adjusted revenue, to demonstrate profitability margins of the segmental operations. Reconciliation: Business review
BALANCE SHEET MEASURES
Net cash/debt	Total liabilities from financing activities	Excludes lease liabilities, other financial liabilities and derivatives held to hedge financing activities	Cash and cash equivalents after deducting total borrowings. The directors consider this to be a useful measure of the financing position of the Group. Reconciliation: Note 12

 

Adjusted net cash/debt	Total liabilities from financing activities	Exclude lease liabilities and derivatives held to hedge financing activities. Includes an adjustment for cash assumed by ratings agencies to not be readily available	Net cash/debt adjusted for cash, assumed by ratings agencies to not be readily available, and excluding unamortised debt-related fees. The directors consider this to be a useful measure as it is aligned with the method used by ratings agencies to assess the financing position of the Group. Unamortised debt costs of £5.9m (including unamortised arrangement fees of £4.0m) as well as £1.1m in relation to a fair value credit are included within the carrying value of borrowings.
			Reconciliation	As at 26 February 2026 £m	As at 27 February 2025 £m
			Net debt	709.3	483.4
			Less: unamortised debt costs	5.9	7.6
			Less: bond fair value adjustment	1.1	-
			Restricted cash adjustment	10.0	10.0
			Adjusted net debt	726.3	501.0

 

Lease-adjusted net debt/cash

Total liabilities from financing activities

Exclude lease liabilities. Includes an adjustment for cash assumed by rating agencies to not be readily available

In line with methodology used by credit rating agencies, lease-adjusted net debt includes Lease debt which is calculated at 8x Cash rent. The directors consider this to be a useful measure as it forms the basis of the Group's leverage targets.

 

			Reconciliation	As at 26 February 2026 £m	As at 27 February 2025 £m
			Adjusted net debt	726.3	501.0
			Lease debt	2,827.2	2,580.8
			Lease-adjusted net debt	3,553.5	3,081.8

 

Net debt/cash and lease liabilities

Cash and cash equivalents less total liabilities from financing activities

Refer to definition

Net debt/cash plus lease liabilities. The directors consider this to be a useful measure of the financing position of the Group.

 

			Reconciliation	As at 26 February 2026 £m	As at 27 February 2025 £m
			Net debt	709.3	483.4
			Lease liabilities	4,523.1	4,233.8
			Net debt and lease liabilities	5,232.4	4,717.2

 

CASH FLOW MEASURES
Lease-adjusted net debt to EBITDAR for leverage	No direct equivalent	Refer to definition	This measure is a ratio of lease-adjusted net debt compared against the Group's adjusted EBITDAR. The directors use this to monitor the leverage position of the Group. This measure may not be directly comparable with similarly titled measures utilised by credit rating agencies, however on a normalised basis these measures would be expected to move proportionally in the same direction.

 

			Reconciliation	52 weeks to 26 February 2026	52 weeks to 27 February 2025
			Lease-adjusted net debt	3,553.5	3,081.8
			Adjusted EBITDAR	1,073.9	1,029.9
			Lease-adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDAR for leverage	3.3x	3.0x

 

Adjusted operating cash flow

Cash generated from operations

Refer to definition

Adjusted operating profit/loss adding back depreciation and amortisation and after IFRS 16 interest and lease repayments and working capital movement. The directors consider this a useful measure as it is a good indicator of the cash generated which is used to fund future growth, shareholder returns, tax, pension and interest payments.

 

			Reconciliation	52 weeks to 26 February 2026	52 weeks to 27 February 2025
			Adjusted operating profit	648.9	629.6
			Depreciation - right-of-use assets	208.6	194.3
			Depreciation - property, plant and equipment	184.4	177.3
			Amortisation	33.2	30.2
			Adjusted EBITDA (post-IFRS 16)	1,075.1	1,031.4
			Interest paid - lease liabilities	(177.0)	(166.7)
			Payment of principal of lease liabilities	(172.9)	(148.7)
			Net lease incentives received/(paid)	(3.1)	2.7
			Movement in working capital	(9.5)	4.6
			Adjusted operating cash flow	712.6	723.3

 

Cash capital expenditure (cash capex)

No direct equivalent

Refer to definition

Cash flows on property, plant and equipment including pre-paid amounts, investment in intangible assets, payments of deferred and contingent consideration, and capital contributions or loans to joint ventures.

 

OTHER MEASURES
Adjusted EBITDA (post-IFRS 16), Adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) and Adjusted EBITDAR	Operating profit	Refer to definition	Adjusted EBITDA (post-IFRS 16) is profit before tax, adjusting items, interest, depreciation and amortisation. Adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) is further adjusted to remove rent expense. Adjusted EBITDAR is profit before tax, adjusting items, interest, depreciation, amortisation, variable lease payments and rental income. The directors consider this measure to be useful as it is a commonly used industry metric which facilitates comparison between companies. The Group's RCF covenants include measures based on adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16).

 

			Reconciliation	52 weeks to 26 February 2026	52 weeks to 27 February 2025
			Adjusted operating profit	648.9	629.6
			Depreciation - right-of-use assets	208.6	194.3
			Depreciation - property, plant and equipment	184.4	177.3
			Amortisation	33.2	30.2
			Adjusted EBITDA (post-IFRS 16)	1,075.1	1,031.4
			Variable lease payments	3.5	4.0
			Rental income	(4.7)	(5.5)
			Adjusted EBITDAR	1,073.9	1,029.9
			Rent expense, variable lease payments and rental income	(348.1)	(323.4)
			Adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16)	725.8	706.5

 

Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)

No direct equivalent

Refer to definition

Adjusted operating profit/loss (pre-IFRS 16) for the year divided by net assets at the balance sheet date, adding back net debt/cash, right-of-use assets, lease liabilities, taxation assets/liabilities, the pension surplus/deficit and derivative financial assets/liabilities, other financial liabilities and IFRS 16 working capital adjustments. The directors consider this to be a useful measure as it expresses the underlying operating efficiency of the Group and is used as the basis for remuneration targets.

 

			52 weeks to 26 February 2026
			Reconciliation	Total £m	UK & Ireland £m
			Adjusted operating profit	648.9
			Depreciation - right-of-use assets	208.6
			Rent expense	(349.3)
			Adjusted operating profit (pre-IFRS 16)	508.2	494.2

 

			Net assets	3,136.4
			Net debt	709.3
			Net current tax assets	(4.5)
			Net deferred tax liabilities	233.7
			Pension surplus	(131.9)
			Derivative financial assets	(0.1)
			Derivative financial liabilities	9.5
			Lease liabilities	4,523.1
			Right-of-use assets	(3,838.1)
			IAS 17 rent adjustments	(65.0)
			Adjusted net assets	4,572.4	3,886.6

 

			Return on capital employed	11.1%	12.7%
			52 weeks to 27 February 2025
			Reconciliation	Total £m	UK &  Ireland £m
			Adjusted operating profit	629.6
			Depreciation - right-of-use assets	194.3
			Rent expense	(324.9)
			Adjusted operating profit (pre-IFRS 16)	499.0	497.3

 

			Net assets	3,334.5
			Net debt	483.4
			Current tax liabilities	12.2
			Deferred tax liabilities	234.8
			Pension surplus	(134.6)
			Derivative financial assets	(19.9)
			Derivative financial liabilities	1.4
			Lease liabilities	4,233.8
			Right-of-use assets	(3,662.7)
			IAS 17 rent adjustments	(65.0)
			Adjusted net assets	4,417.9	3,844.2

 

Return on capital employed

11.3%

12.9%