Premier Inn-owner Whitbread wins investor backing in Corvex fight

The FTSE-100 owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain has won public backing from a top-25 shareholder as it tries to thwart an activist investor's boardroom raid.

Sky News has learnt that Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), which holds roughly 1.2% of Whitbread, has backed the company's calls to resist a demand from Corvex Management for a seat on its board.

The activist wants to install James Gemmel, one of its partners, on the Whitbread board, saying it wants "a clear mandate for change" and accusing the company of pursuing a strategy which has repeatedly delivered negative shareholder returns.

However, Richard Marwood, RLAM's head of UK and European equities, said he backed Whitbread's management, led by chief executive Dominic Paul.

"In one respect we agree with Corvex - we also believe that the Whitbread share price does not reflect the true worth of the company," Mr Marwood said.

"However, we do not think Whitbread's board needs to be changed.

"The company has a credible and granular strategy for how it can generate value for all shareholders.

"We believe the best course of action is to allow them the time and space to execute on that plan - the delivery of which we will be watching closely."

Whitbread will put Corvex's campaign to a vote on November 9, with the two main proxy advisory firms - ISS and Glass Lewis - split on whether to support the activist.

Corvex holds a roughly 6.5% stake in Whitbread.

In the wake of this week's budget, the leisure group told investors that it would be hit less hard by changes to business rates than it had anticipated.

It said it would face a rise in business rate payments of between £7.5m and £12.5m in the next financial year, against previous estimates of £35m.

City sources said that Aviva Investors, another top-25 investor in Whitbread, was also supportive of the company's management.

On Friday morning, shares in Whitbread were trading at about £27.69, giving the company a market capitalisation of about £4.6bn.

(c) Sky News 2026: Premier Inn-owner Whitbread wins investor backing in Corvex fight