Premier Inn and Beefeater owner blames tax rises for cutting nearly 4,000 jobs

The owner of hotel chain Premier Inn has announced plans to cut 3,800 jobs, blaming higher costs, as part of an overhaul of its restaurants.

As many as 12.6% of its 30,000 workforce in the UK and Ireland are facing the axe as the company points to the higher costs of employing staff.

The company, Whitbread, also owns food brands Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Bar and Block, Cookhouse and Pub, Thyme bar and grill and Table Table.

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The move is part of a new five-year strategy to reduce costs and is being made in light of "significant cost increases in the form of business rates and National Insurance".

Government had increased employers' national insurance contributions and introduced a new business rates regime, which upped the amounts some firms pay.

Whitbread's review was in part instigated due to "unexpected changes" such as "higher than expected" inflation and "significant increases in UK business rates".

The company had also come under pressure to make changes from an activist investor.

What about jobs?

Job cuts are subject to consultation, with efforts being made to move staff into alternative roles, the owner said.

"We expect to retain a significant proportion of those affected and will be looking to redeploy as many of our impacted colleagues as possible," a company update said.

About 15,000 people are hired a year, the update read.

What else is changing?

As part of the business review, Whitbread said it would convert restaurants to an "integrated food and beverage offer", which it said is preferred by hotel guests.

As part of this, it will replace its 197 restaurants with hotel-based food and beverage offerings.

It had already agreed the sale of 51 branded restaurants and agreed terms for the sale of a further 60 sites.

Part of the changes announced on Thursday include Whitbread selling and then renting back £1.5bn of the properties it owns. The company is unusual, compared to rival hoteliers, in that it owns about half the hotels it operates.

(c) Sky News 2026: Premier Inn and Beefeater owner blames tax rises for cutting nearly 4,000 jobs