Whitbread Plc’s profit rose about 14 per cent in the first half as new openings and growing demand at both its Premier Inn hotels and the Costa Coffee chain helped send sales up strongly.

Whitbread, Britain’s biggest hotel and coffee shop operator, said it remained on track to deliver full-year results in line with expectations.

Its shares rose as much as 3 per cent, making it the top FTSE-100 gainer yesterday on the London Stock Exchange.

The group, which is expanding its presence in the Middle East, South East Asia, Germany and India, said it expected to open around 50 new stores in China but added there had been a “slight softening” in its performance due to the slowdown in the country’s economy. “Chinese consumers love Costa,” said chief executive Andy Harrison. –(Reuters)