Premier Inn owner Whitbread is set to axe around 1,500 UK jobs as part of plans to build more hotel rooms and slash its chain of branded restaurants by more than 200.

The company said, while announcing a 36% hike in annual profits to £561m, that it was to begin a consultation on cutting roles under an “accelerating growth plan”.

That was to focus on hotel investment, Whitbread explained, that could see some of the jobs saved through redeployment.

Money latest: State pensions ‘could be in doubt for future generations’

The group’s restaurant arm includes the Brewers Fayre and Beefeater brands.

The division has dragged on Whitbread’s performance since the pandemic, with the end of public health restrictions being followed by the energy-led cost of living crisis that has raised costs and damaged consumer spending power.

The company, which employs 37,000 staff in the UK, said it was to “optimise” its food and drink offering to add more than 3,500 hotel rooms across its estate and increase “operational efficiencies”.

Whitbread said it wanted to sell 126 of its less profitable branded restaurants, with 21 sales already having gone through.

It will also convert 112 restaurants into new hotel rooms.

The company revealed a 2% dip in sales across its food and beverage arm in the first seven weeks of its financial year to date.

Dominic Paul, Whitbread’s chief executive, said: “We recognise that our transition will impact some of our team members so we will be providing support throughout this process and we are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of those affected to remain with us.”

Shares were down almost 15% in the year to date ahead of the company’s announcements.

They rose by 1.7% at the open.

Analysts said it reflected the focus on achieving more profitable growth in the UK core market and a rise in awards covering the year to 29 February.

They included plans for a share buyback of £150m on top of a £110m final dividend.

The latter award was 26% up on the previous year’s payout.

A man believed to be the victim after human remains were found in a Salford nature reserve has been named as Stuart Everett.

Police said DNA samples had been sent for urgent analysis to formally confirm the victim’s identity.

Mr Everett, 67, lived in the local area.

A major investigation started after a torso wrapped in plastic was found at Kersal Dale Wetlands on 4 April.

More remains were discovered at the weekend in the Greater Manchester area – at Blackleach Reservoir and Colliery Wood, and on Monday in an alleyway in Eccles.

Police said they were confident they all belong to the same person.

Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski, 68, and Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, from Eccles, were yesterday charged with murder.

They are due to appear at Manchester Crown Court this morning.

The discovery of the torso four weeks ago – consisting of the bottom of the back, buttocks and thigh – prompted a large search for other remains to try to identify the victim.

Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes said Mr Everett’s family was being supported by specially-trained officers.

“On behalf of Stuart’s loved ones, I ask the public and the press to please respect their wishes for peace and privacy while they process this most devastating news,” he said.

“My officers and detectives, alongside additional resources from across the force, have worked tirelessly over the last three days to secure charges.”

Mr Hughes thanked the public for their help and said police would leave no stone unturned “to find answers for Stuart’s family”.

An Abu Dhabi-backed fund has conceded defeat in its bid to buy The Daily Telegraph after its ownership was effectively blocked by the government.

RedBird IMI announced it had placed The Telegraph and The Spectator titles up for sale, declaring that its ownership was “no longer feasible”.

The move was confirmed after ministers revealed plans last month to outlaw foreign state ownership of UK newspapers.

The gulf state-backed fund had reached a deal with previous Telegraph owners the Barclay family, in December last year, to take control of the group by paying off debts owed to their bank, Lloyds.

But the move sparked investigations by the Competition and Markets Authority and the media regulator and culminated in the government pulling the plug through an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.

A statement read: “RedBird IMI has today confirmed that it intends to withdraw from its proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group and proceed with a sale.

“We continue to believe this approach would have benefited the Telegraph and Spectator’s readers, their journalists and the UK media landscape more widely.

“Regrettably, it is clear this approach is no longer feasible.”

Sky News revealed earlier this month that RedBird IMI had been in talks with Whitehall officials over the structure of the onward sale.

Those discussions included the possibility of the Telegraph titles and The Spectator being sold separately.

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