Hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread has announced that it plans to use a number of its assets to contribute more than £100m towards its pension fund.

An approach developed by Deloitte will see the company form a new partnership with the pension scheme trustee, which will acquire a stake in its hotel and restaurants portfolio. Whitbread has become the latest FTSE 100 company to announce it is using the new approach, with FTSE 100 pension scheme shortfalls increasing to more than £100bn in recent months.

David Robbins, the Deloitte pensions partner advising Whitbread, said: "Whitbread has used its hotel and restaurant assets in a novel and intelligent way to make a significant contribution to the pension scheme." Whitbread group finance director Christopher Rogers added: "This is a very effective and efficient use of our property assets and benefits Whitbread in terms of cashflow."