Travel Inn chief wins Whitbread battle

THE Whitbread director behind the runaway success of the Travel Inn chain has won the battle to take over as the group's new chief executive next summer.

Alan Parker will succeed David Thomas when he retires in June after Whitbread plumped for an internal candidate despite calls in the City for new blood.

Former Matalan boss Paul Mason was among the favourites but Parker's main rivals were Bill Shannon, head of Whitbread's restaurants arm, and Stewart Miller, managing director of its David Lloyd Leisure business.

Whitbread chairman Sir John Banham said: 'This was a unanimous decision by the nomination committee and I think it underlines the board's confidence in the management and the strategy for the business. We are very fortunate to have a Premier League manager and we are going to expect him to achieve Premier League results.'

Parker, 57, joined the group 11 years ago from Holiday Inn and is credited with turning Whitbread's hotels business from a basket case into one of the best in the sector.

From profits of £2m in 1992, it now makes £140m a year across Travel Inn and its collection of four-star Marriott hotels.

Parker's salary was undisclosed but Banham said it would be less than his predecessor's £535,000 a year.