Whitbread to name Severn Trent's Hodgson as new chair
The chair of Severn Trent, the FTSE-100 water company, is to add to her portfolio of directorships by taking the helm of Whitbread, the Premier Inn-owner.
Sky News has learnt that Christine Hodgson has been selected as the preferred candidate to replace Adam Crozier as Whitbread's chairman.
City sources said her appointment could be announced as early as next week.
Money latest:
Ms Hodgson is said to have seen off competition for the post from Andrew Martin, chair of the testing and inspection group Intertek.
Mr Crozier, who has chaired the leisure group since 2018, is expected to step down later this year.
Ms Hodgson has some experience of the leisure industry, having served on the board of Ladbrokes Coral Group until 2017.
Under Mr Crozier's stewardship, Whitbread has been radically reshaped, selling its Costa Coffee subsidiary to The Coca-Cola Company in 2019 for nearly £4bn.
The company has also seen off an activist campaign spearheaded by Elliott Advisers, while Mr Crozier orchestrated the appointment of Dominic Paul, its chief executive, following Alison Brittain's retirement.
It said last year that it sees potential to grow the Premier Inn network from 86,000 UK bedrooms to 125,000 over the next decade or so.
The company has also been exploring the sale of some of its pub and restaurant operations.
On Thursday, shares in Whitbread were trading at around £28.41, giving the company a market capitalisation of about £4.8bn.
Whitbread declined to comment.
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Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Whitbread, beginning with the chart below. View our latest analysis for Whitbread Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Whitbread. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Whitbread, (below). 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While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Be aware that Whitbread is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about... If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
