London - Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn hotels and Costa Coffee, on Friday named Lloyds Banking Group executive Alison Brittain as its new boss, succeeding Andy Harrison.
Brittain, 50, is currently group director of Lloyds' retail division. She previously held senior roles at Santander UK and Barclays and is also a non-executive director of Marks & Spencer.
Harrison, who joined Whitbread as CEO from easyJet in 2010, announced last month that he had decided to retire from full time executive life at the end of February 2016.
During his tenure Whitbread's stock market value has grown from 2.5 billion pounds ($3.92 billion) to almost 10 billion, as the group expands to tap demand from cost-conscious customers for affordable hotels and a rising trend for takeaway coffee.
The firm, which employs 45 000 people in the UK, recently extended openings and sales targets for Premier Inn and Costa.
Brittain, who will join the company on January 4 2016, has a strong focus for customer service and experience in digital, marketing and managing significant property portfolios, Whitbread Chairman Richard Baker said. Lloyds said she had “revitalised” its retail business since joining in 2011.
Many analysts had tipped Costa Coffee Managing Director and former group finance chief Chris Rogers to replace Harrison.
Brittain will receive a base salary of 775 000 pounds ($1.2 million) plus other benefits and will also be eligible for performance-related share rewards. Whitbread added that she would be purchasing 500 000 pounds worth of the company's shares.
Whitbread's shares closed at 5,260 pence on Thursday, up 29 percent on a year ago.
Reuters