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Whitbread to sell David Lloyd Leisure
Whitbread has confirmed that it is looking to sell its David Lloyd Leisure division to focus on its hospitality portfolio.
Announcing the leisure group’s preliminary results, CEO Alan Parker said: “We are considering approaches for David Lloyd Leisure but in the meantime, the turnaround and performance of the business is underpinning value.”
Scott Lloyd, son of the founder of David Lloyd Leisure, is among those thought to have made a bid of around £1bn for the health club chain.
Other possible bidders include Asif Aziz, Simon Halabi, MidOcean Partners and London & Regional.
There is also speculation that Whitbread – along with private-equity firm Permira and property entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz – is planning to bid for Irish hotel chain Jurys Inns.
Whitbread’s results for the year to 1 March showed a 24.5 per cent rise in annual profit and a pre-tax profit of £213m. Sales increased 10.3 per cent to £1.3bn, while like-for-like sales rose 4.3 per cent, owing to strong growth in the Premier Travel Inn and Costa coffee sector.
Parker added: “Premier Travel and Costa have shown strong growth and our plans for international expansion are progressing well. Early results for the revamped restaurants business are very encouraging and the joint site Premier Travel/restaurant model is delivering excellent returns.”