Whitbread axes DLL chief

Leisure giant Whitbread has replaced Stewart Miller as managing director of it health and fitness arm, David Lloyd Leisure, reportedly in a bid to boost the strugging chain's perfomance.

Taking Miller's place from 1 October will be Mike Tye, currently managing director of Whitbread's budget hotel chain, Premier Travel Inn.

The news came alongside Whitbread's reporting that total sales for the group have grown by 12.5 per cent for the first 24 weeks of the financial year to 18 August. Like-for-like sales rose by 0.6 per cent.

The David Lloyd Leisure chain saw like for like sales growth of 0.1 per cent.

Whitbread has also announced that it will return £400m to shareholders, £150m more than previously indicated.

Alan Parker, chief executive, said: “In a difficult trading environment we continue to grow sales, which is a testament to the underlying strength of our business and the benefit of the Premier Lodge acquisition.”

Whitbread has opened more than 500 new bedrooms at the re-branded Premier Travel Inn since the start of the year and aims to add more than 1,000 rooms between now and the year end.

Patrick Dempsey, formerly managing director of Marriott, will succeed Mike Tye at Premier Travel Inn. Details: www.whitbread.co.uk