Premier Inn owner Whitbread to axe thousands of jobs as it looks to expand hotel business

Premier Inn owner Whitbread is set to axe around 1,500 UK jobs as part of plans to build more hotel rooms and slash its chain of branded restaurants by more than 200.

The company said, while announcing a 36% hike in annual profits to £561m, that it was to begin a consultation to cut roles under an "accelerating growth plan".

That was to focus on hotel investment, Whitbread explained, that could see some of the jobs saved through redeployment.

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