Whitbread shares jump on Costa and Inn sales

Whitbread’s profit rose about 14% in the first half as new openings and growing demand at both its Premier Inn hotels and the Costa Coffee chain helped send sales up strongly.

Britain’s biggest hotel and coffee shop operator said it remained on track to deliver full-year results in line with expectations.

Shares in the company rose as much as 3% yesterday, making it the top FTSE-100 gainer on the London Stock Exchange.