Whitbread shareholders reject activist investor’s push for board seat
Premier Inn owner Whitbread has fought off pressure from an activist investor after shareholders rejected its bid for a board seat. The FTSE 100 hospitality firm hailed the “decisive” victory and said it would now ramp up efforts to deliver on its turnaround plan, which saw the group sell off all of its restaurants in [...]
Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, has defied pressure from an activist investor to secure a board seat for one of its directors. The FTSE 100 hospitality company announced a decisive victory at its general meeting, with more than 83% of shareholders voting against the motion. Corvex Asset Management, a major shareholder, had pushed for James Gemmel to join the board to address the firm's "chronic misallocation of capital."
The investment firm criticized Whitbread's £1.1bn expansion into Germany and called for a thorough review of the company's spending. However, the shareholders rejected the proposal, and Whitbread's shares dropped 1.9% to 2,774p after the result. Despite the setback, Whitbread's chair, Christine Hodgson, thanked the majority of shareholders for their decisive action, stating that the company would now focus on its Five-Year plan, which includes selling its standalone restaurants and cutting nearly 4,000 jobs.
The firm aims to raise £1.5bn by selling the freehold rights to its hotels, with the goal of improving margins, cash flows, and returns.
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