The excellent summer weather has been less of a boon for restaurant and hotel groups when compared with the robust trading conditions at pub groups fortunate enough to own beer gardens. But, as trading at Whitbread (WTB) showed, with enough diversity of revenues even restuarant operators can keep growth ticking over during the traditionally quiet summer months. In Whitbread's case, the possibility of a general recovery in the UK economy means it is time to re-evaluate our sell tip.
Despite news of slightly slower Costa Coffee sales, the group's performance over the 24 weeks to 15 August was notably secure with like-for-like sales growing by 2.6 per cent. That growth was driven mainly by sales at Whitbread's ubiquitous Costa Coffee shops which posted like-for-likes sales 5.7 per cent higher, as the benefits from easier comparisons with last year flowed through. This helped offset the seasonally weaker performance at restaurants where sales shrank by 0.1 per cent as customers stayed outside to enjoy the sunshine. Budget hotel chain Premier Inn also put in a notable performance with underlying revenues up by 2.9 per cent.
