Common Table Group agrees deal for 57 Whitbread restaurants

Common Table Group has agreed to acquire 57 UK restaurants and a Premier Inn hotel from Whitbread for an undisclosed sum, taking over sites previously operated under some of the group's best-known dining brands.

What happened

The acquisition covers former Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Cookhouse venues, as first reported by City AM. It follows Whitbread's closure of its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains last month.

Hospitality consultancy Rove360 supported the buyer on the transaction. Its team includes former senior Whitbread managers, bringing people with experience of the seller's business into the acquisition process.

Common Table Group was founded by coffee entrepreneur Thomas Anderson. The business plans to spend money refurbishing the acquired restaurants and developing new menus, although no investment figure has been disclosed.

Coffee will come from sister business Rodeo, which operates 15 sites across London and Manchester. The arrangement gives Rodeo a supply role in the restaurants as Common Table prepares to resume trading.

The background

Whitbread set out plans in April to cut £2bn in costs, close all its non-hotel restaurants and remove nearly 4,000 jobs. The restaurant disposal comes against that wider restructuring of the FTSE 100 hotel group's operations.

Rove360 has previously worked for Whitbread on reducing costs. The consultancy helped deliver £150m in labour savings, meaning its involvement with the acquired venues follows an earlier role supporting the seller's efficiency programme.

The restructuring also comes amid pressure from Corvex Asset Management, which holds more than 6% of Whitbread. The shareholder initially wanted the group to seek a buyer for the whole business and criticised its record of allocating capital.

What people are saying

Anderson said restoring trading was the immediate priority. He described an approach in which restaurant teams would have discretion to make decisions and adapt individual venues to their local customers and communities.

That position puts local management at the centre of Common Table's plans, alongside the physical refurbishment and menu work. Anderson said the intention was to build an entrepreneurial hospitality business rather than leave decisions solely at group level.

Whitbread has attributed the need for its turnaround plan to an unexpected increase in business rates. Chief executive Dominic Paul also identified higher National Insurance costs and a market valuation that the company believes does not reflect its underlying worth as reasons for reviewing its options.

Those pressures sit within a broader debate over the tax burden facing hospitality operators, with Whitbread linking the restaurant closures directly to rising costs.

What happens next

The acquired restaurants are due to begin reopening next month. Common Table's plans are expected to create 700 jobs as the sites return to operation under their new owner.

Separately, Corvex has been pressing since last month for a seat on Whitbread's board and a detailed, evidence-led review of the group. That demand extends beyond the restaurant transaction to scrutiny of the wider business.