Growth plan for Costa and Premier Inn

Premier Inn’s rapid growth story is set to continue after its owner, Whitbread, mapped out plans for as many as 900 hotels by the end of 2020.

By SCOTT REID

Published 29th Apr 2015, 01:00 BST

Whitbread aims to increase sales at its coffee chain Costa to £2.5 billion by 2020. Picture: Newscast/PA

The budget brand, which currently has 697 hotels providing almost 60,000 rooms in the UK, helped the group to grow underlying profits by 18 per cent to £488.1 million in the financial year to 26 February.

Whitbread’s expansion plans also include a pledge to increase sales at its Costa coffee business from this year’s £1.4 billion to £2.5bn in 2020.

The group said the achievement of its milestones for Costa and Premier Inn would create 15,000 jobs in the UK over the next five years.

Whitbread chief executive Andy Harrison – who has announced his intention to leave the company by next February – described the results as “outstanding”.

Harrison is the former boss of EasyJet and RAC and has run Whitbread since 2010.