Whitbread profits from property sale and leaseback

Whitbread has raised over 50m pounds from the sale and leaseback of seven Premier Inns and joint-site restaurants.

NFU Mutual and Standard Life Assurance will pay Whitbread £51.04m in cash and enter into 25-year leases who will continue to operate the properties.

This represents a net initial yield of under 5.3%, Whitbread said.

The company said that the price represents a profit over book value of £19.6m and is 95% of the 2007 valuation of the individual properties.

"This sale and leaseback is a continued evolution of our overall funding portfolio, and follows our successful 2011 US private placement and bank refinancing," said Finance Director Nicholas Cadbury.

"The significant book profit is a useful reminder of the value we create from our freehold developments, and the strong asset backing to Whitbread's balance sheet."

BC