Premier Inns earn extra £2m from Games
Whitbread's Premier Inns earned an extra £2m from the Olympics as the hotel chain pegged prices at £199 a room.
The 630-hotel chain had 100 per cent occupancy in London during the Games, although only 15 per cent of Premier Inns' revenues come from the capital. Like-for-like sales rose 3.7 per cent in the six months to 30 August, and its coffee chain Costa, boosted by wet weather, saw sales up 6.8 per cent.
It chief executive, Andy Harrison said: "Some of our competitors were charging £400 a room, but we didn't want to leave customers with a bad taste in their mouth."
Pre-tax profits, up 10.6 per cent to £193m, beat City hopes but its shares slipped 18p to 2,305p as it cautioned that its growth is set to slow as consumers feel squeezed.
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