The boss of Whitbread is expected to open the door to a break-up of the FTSE 100 giant this week, after mounting pressure from an activist hedge fund.
Alison Brittain is not “philosophically opposed” to Whitbread spinning off the Costa Coffee chain from its Premier Inn hotels, say City sources.
The chief executive will lay out her position at the company’s full-year results on Wednesday and is understood to believe a split is a case of “when, not if”.
