Premier Inn owner Whitbread has reported a 5% slowdown in UK sales in its Q1 results, citing a “challenging” market backdrop.

The fall was driven by a 16% decline in food and beverage sales, while its accommodation business recorded a 2% drop.

Whitbread was reporting its performance for the 13-week period to 29 May and suggested that its food and beverage sales were still in line with its expectations, while it also reported a “strong outperformance” in London in accommodation sales, up 3.9% against last year.

The hospitality group also delivered an update on its £250m share buyback scheme and revealed the company is “on track”, with 1.2 million shares purchased so far for a total consideration of £34m.

“In the UK, we continue to outperform against a challenging market backdrop,” said Whitbread chief executive, Dominic Paul.

“Whilst the short-lead nature of our business means that our forward visibility remains limited, our forward booked position is ahead of last year and we remain confident that we can continue to outperform the market.”

Whitbread has a five-year plan to deliver incremental profit of at least £300m by the 2030 financial year, a period in which it also intends to generate more than £2bn for shareholder returns.

For the remaining three quarters of the 2026 financial year, the group added that its commercial initiatives were “underpinning confidence” in being able to outperform the market.

Head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, Derren Nathan, commented: “While forward bookings in the UK are ahead of last year, that doesn’t provide a huge cushion if conditions don’t improve.

“However, Whitbread is a quality operator that’s doing all it can to improve efficiency, and optimise its estate through initiatives such as converting low performing restaurants into additional room space. The current valuation reflects the challenging outlook.

“Whitbread continues to build on the substantial operational improvements made in recent years so the shares could be attractive to investors who are prepared to sit out the cycle.”

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