Whitbread today reported strong sales growth for the first half of the year, driven by its expansion plans.

The company, in which Robert Tchenguiz has a 3% stake, said that for the six months to 14 August, it had achieved like -for -like sales growth of 7% .

The company, which runs Premier Inns, coffee chain Costa, and the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pub restaurants, has opened 14 hotels and 108 coffee shops since the start of the year.

Alan Parker, Whitbread chief executive, said the growth was underpinned by an emphasis on value for money.

‘Premier Inn has outperformed the hotel market with total sales increasing 17.9% and like for like sales 10.2%,’ he said. ‘This positive growth has been driven by 7.6% more rooms sold in our expanded estate and REVPAR (revenue per available room) increasing 5.8%.’

Parker said the company’s pub restaurants division had seen like for like sales increase by 4.4% and Costa brand saw like for like sales growth of 3.7%.

Tchenguiz, who also owns 29.7% in pub operator Mitchells & Butler, revealed he had increased his stake in Whitbread to 3% in May this year.

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