“Nonetheless, there remains little room for error at these levels and the group has to manage its change of chief executive before the end of the present financial year.”
The half-year dividend has been raised by 13% to 28.5p a share and the shares, which have nearly trebled on Harrison’s watch, rose 100p to 4825p.
Barclays has a price target of 6000p on the shares as has Deutsche Bank and rates the shares a Buy after their 11% fall so far this year.
Whitbread said that present trading was “consistent” with the first half’s and confirmed that the National Living Wage would add between £15 million and £20 million to costs over the next five years.
