Downturn hurts but Whitbread is upbeat

The recession must be serious — even Whitbread is feeling the pinch.

The Costa Coffee, Premier Inn and Beefeater restaurants group has been one of the clear winners of the downturn as business travellers and those on weekend breaks look to manage on a tight budget.

Today it said sales in the last few weeks have been "predominantly negative", especially at the hotels arm. The long Christmas break and last month's snow also hit business.

But the picture still looked positive in the 50 weeks to 12 February. Like-for-like sales were up 6.2% at Premier Inn, 4.4% at the restaurants and 2% at Costa Coffee.

Upbeat chief executive Alan Parker said Whitbread is well-placed for a challenging year, with Costa proving to be a "remarkably resilient business". Costa is opening a store a day, about the same number rival Starbucks is closing.

Premier has had some good days this year despite the slump.

"Valentine's Day was a great day. There is still some love in the air," said Parker.