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Highlights
- Whitbread registered a 10.5% increase in total accommodation sales in August 2021.
- Marston’s total pub sales were recorded as £402 million for 12 months ended 2 October 2021, representing 78% of the previous year’s figures.
Hospitality, hotel and pubs were among the worst affected industries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The restriction imposed resulted in people staying at home and caused a temporary closure of restaurants, pubs, and hotel accommodations. Several smaller hotels and restaurants were forced to permanently close down due to lack of business and all revenue streams drying up suddenly.
With improvements in vaccination rates, resumption of travel and reopening of the economy, various hotels, pubs and restaurants are slowly seeing the return of customers. Here is a detailed review of the investment potential in two FTSE hotel stocks - Whitbread and Marston’s.
Whitbread Plc (LON: WTB)
Whitbread plc is an international hotel and restaurant firm based in the UK. It is the owner of Premier Inn, one of the largest hotel brands in the country. The company recorded a strong recovery in demand in the UK post 17 May when the government allowed leisure overnight stays. Its total accommodation sales were up 10.5% in August.
Whitbread’s H1 FY22 statutory revenues were £661.6 million compared to £250.8 million in H1 FY20 due to the imposition of COVID-19 restrictions. Its adjusted loss before tax was £56.6 million, and it benefited £141.6 million from government COVID-19 support schemes in Germany and the UK.
The shares of Whitbread closed at GBX 3,315.00, down by 1.28% on Tuesday, 9 November 2021. The market cap of the company stands at £6,783.08 million, and the shares gave a return of 23.23% to shareholders in the last one year.
Marston’s Plc (LON: MARS)
Marston's plc is a UK-based brewing, pub and hotel business. For the quarter from 25 July to 2 October, Marston's recorded sales growth of 2% over 2019 levels in its managed and franchised pubs business.
Marston’s total pub sales were recorded as £402 million for 12 months ended 2 October 2021, representing 78% of the previous year’s figures. During the lockdown, Marston's inked leased and management contracts to operate 156 pubs from SA Brain.
The shares of Marston’s closed at GBX 80.50, down by 0.19% on Tuesday, 9 November 2021. The market cap of the company stands at £511.44 million, and the shares gave a return of 36.44% to shareholders in the last one year.
