Brewers Fayre and Beefeater jobs across Portsmouth area at risk, parent company Whitbread confirms

As reported, Whitbread is putting its budget hotel business first with plans to add thousands more rooms across the UK at the expense of 1,500 jobs.

The group plans to “optimise” its food and drink offering to add more than 3,500 hotel rooms across its estate and increase “operational efficiencies”. The overhaul will see the firm sell 126 of its less profitable branded restaurants, with 21 sales already having gone through. It will also convert 112 restaurants into additional hotel space.

FTSE-100 Whitbread plans to axe around 1,500 jobs as a result of the shake-up. Those job cuts are still subject to consultation and would come from its total UK workforce of 37,000 employees.

Portsmouth features Harbour Lights Beefeater in Cosham, a Brewers Fayre on Clarence Pier and Premier Inn hotels located in Isambard Brunel Road, Queen Street, Port Solent and in Southsea. In Havant there is also the Rusty Cutter and the Oast and Squire in Fareham beefeaters.

A spokesperson said these locations were among those where redundancies could be made. “We have announced proposals which could impact these sites, but it is important to note they are subject to consultation. It’s also worth noting the sites are open and trading as usual,” the spokesperson said.

“We recognise that this will be unsettling for our team members, and we are providing them with dedicated support. We are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of our affected team members to stay with us by either transferring into new roles, or by taking up other vacancies across the business more broadly through our existing recruitment activity.” 

Mark Crouch, an analyst at investment platform eToro, described Premier Inn as the “leading light” for the group, generating record cash flows and profits.

He said: “The performance of Whitbread’s Beefeater and Brewers Fayre have become something of a burden. The effects of higher food inflation now mean so many of us opt to eat in, heavily impacting the restaurants. As a result, a proportion of the sites are due to be sold and a larger number set to be converted into expansions of the high-flying Premier Inn.

“Whitbread’s share price has been dragged down to a 12-month low and with Premier Inn doing all the heavy lifting, this move seems to make sense and will likely lighten the load and hopefully lift the price.”

Whitbread said the cost-cutting programme will save about £150 million over the next three years. It will also offer a £150m stock buy-back to shareholders in the next six months and increase dividend payments by 26 per cent this year.