Whitbread to Sell $2 Billion in Hotels and Cut 3,800 Jobs

Whitbread, the owner of British budget hotel chain Premier Inn, announced Thursday a major strategic overhaul that includes selling freehold properties worth £1.5 billion ($2 billion), scrapping its branded restaurants, and cutting about 3,800 jobs.

“Our new five-year plan is a step change for Whitbread and completes our journey to becoming a 100% pure play hotel business,” CEO Dominic Paul said at a presentation of the company’s full-year results and business review.

Premier Inn currently has over 900 properties with roughly 98,000 rooms across the UK, Ireland, and Germany, but has been under pressure from Corvex Management, the U.S. hedge fund that disclosed a 6% stake in Whitbread in December when calling for a fundamental rethink of the company’s £3.5 billion ($4.7 billion) five-year investment plan.

Whitbread initially pushed back, but in January, Paul said the company would “review all options” ahead of its full-year results. Thursday