Whitbread (WTB) owns the largest and most popular hotel chain in the UK, Premier Inn. It also has a number of restaurant brands, such as Beefeater, operated in or next to its hotels.
Just over a year before the pandemic struck, the company set out major expansion plans. While Covid decimated trading in 2020 and will continue to do so into 2021, Whitbread remains a robust business at a time when many of its rivals are experiencing extreme distress. With competition on the floor, the company should have the opportunity to realise its growth aspirations quicker and more cheaply when a recovery eventually sets in.