If you are asking the question “Should I buy Whitbread shares?”, you probably already know that Whitbread is a British based multinational restaurant, coffee shop and hotel company. You may also know that Whitbread’s Costa Coffee chain, with its 1,600 shops in 25 countries is the world’s second largest coffee shop chain. Whitbread is the UK’s third largest hospitality group, with a variety of investments in businesses such as hotels and restaurants. The origins of the company lie in the mass-production beer-brewing business started by the eponymous Samuel Whitbread in the mid-18^th century. By the mid-20^th century, Whitbread had expanded to manufacture license-produced international brands like Heineken and Stella Artois, and opened its first steak house chain, Beefeater.

By the 1980’s, Whitbread had fully transformed into an integrated hospitality chain, operating local franchises for global chains like Marriott Hotels, TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut, David Lloyd Leisure and Premier Lodge. Most of these franchises, as well as Whitbread’s original brewery business, were disposed of by 2000, ending the group’s 258-year history of making beer.

In 1995, Whitbread acquired Costa Coffee from Sergio and Bruno Costa for £19 million and continued to own the coffee shop chain until its £3.9 billion sale to Coca-Cola in January 2019. At its peak, Costa Coffee provided close to 40% of Whitbread’s revenue, with hotels & restaurants contributing the remaining 60%. The company also franchised some of its coffee shops, both in the UK and internationally.

Since the Costa divestment, Premier Inn hotels has become the group’s largest division. The hotel brand owns around 785 properties and operates over 72,000 rooms. It also manages the restaurant chains Whitbread Inns, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Bar+Block. Practically all of Whitbread’s restaurants are located nearby or co-located with a local Premier Inn hotel. The aim of this strategy is to promote the company’s organic growth in a departure from the earlier acquisition-heavy expansion strategy.

Whitbread serves more than 5 million customers per month and employs over 35,000 people in more than 1.200 hotels and restaurants in the UK. Its long-term strategy is to build on its core UK hospitality business, as well as expand into continental Europe and the Middle East.

If you’re asking ‘should I buy Whitbread shares’, you should be aware that the stock is well diversified. Take care to carry out the appropriate research, enable yourself to make an informed decision before deciding whether to add to your portfolio. Whitbread’s shares are publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange and the company is a component of the UK 100 index of London blue-chip stocks.