WHITBREAD moved forward in its restructuring yesterday after the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre owner unveiled the sale of a German steakhouse chain.
The Maredo restaurant business - consisting of 58 sites and 1,880 staff - is to be bought by a European private equity consortium for 35.6m euros (£24.2m).
The disposal by Whitbread, which acquired the 30-year-old business in 1994, is part of a plan announced in October to sell non-core assets and reshape itself around three sectors of the leisure market where it has leading positions - budget hotels, restaurants and health and fitness clubs.
Whitbread said in March that it was giving up its Marriott UK hotels in a deal set to raise £1bn. Whitbread and Marriott International, will work in tandem to hold the hotels until they are sold.
Today's disposal was announced on the eve of full-year results from Whitbread, which is forecast to announce pre-tax profits of £275 million, against £249 million last time.
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