Premier Inn owner Whitbread rejects 'destructive' Corvex investor push ahead of November shareholder vote

Whitbread has written to its shareholders urging them to vote against activist investor Corvex Asset Management's bid to install James Gemmel on the FTSE 100 company's board at a general meeting scheduled for 9 November. The hospitality giant absorbed a £178m profit hit from its own turnaround plan and insists a second strategic review would be a "complete waste" of company resources. Corvex, one of Whitbread's biggest shareholders, had accused it of "chronic misallocation of capital" before shifting from demanding an outright sale to seeking board representation.

Whitbread accused Corvex of hypocrisy, noting the hedge fund called for a full sale in May before claiming it has "no pre-determined agenda" for the company's future.

Corvex managing partner Keith Meister insists the firm wants to work "in a collegiate and non-adversarial way" — a claim Whitbread's board has flatly rejected.

Whitbread warned that installing Corvex's nominee would "destroy the momentum" of its Five-Year Plan and delay shareholder value it says is already on course to be delivered.