Premier Inn owner surpasses pre-Covid profits as travellers seek deals

Whitbread beats analysts' expectations, reporting 375m in pretax profits for year to 3 March

The owner of Premier Inn has said profits have surpassed pre-pandemic levels as the UK's biggest budget hotel chain benefits from a surge in demand from cost-conscious holidaymakers.

Whitbread, which runs almost 900 hotels in the UK and Germany as well as restaurant chains including Beefeater, Bar & Block and Brewers Fayre, said it would benefit from the scale of its business as small operators succumb to a combination of labour shortages and cost inflation.