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Premier-Inn owner Whitbread is reportedly set to appoint Christine Hodgson, chair of FTSE-100 water company Severn Trent as its new chair, according to Sky News.
Hodgson is understood to have been chosen ahead of Andrew Martin, chair of the testing and inspection group Intertek.
City sources told the outlet that her appointment could be announced as early as next week.
The news comes after the hotel group hired Russell Reynolds Associates in a bid to find a successor to chairman Adam Crozier.
Crozier, who has held the chairman role at the Premier Inn owner since 2018, is expected to step down in the next 12 months, despite not being ‘timed out’ under corporate governance until 2026.
During his tenure, Crozier offloaded Whitbread’s Costa Coffee subsidiary to The Coca-Cola Company in 2019 for approximately £4bn. He boasts a long career in leadership positions, having previously run the Football Association, ITV and Royal Mail Group.
He currently chairs BT Group and Kantar, as well as the market research and data business backed by Bain Capital and WPP Group.
It is understood that the group is now planning to sell a number of Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants to allow Whitbread to better focus on expanding Premier Inn.
The group also recently reported a 14% decline in its annual profits to £483m for the 52 weeks to 27 February 2025 (FY24: £561m), as it was hit by higher costs and a fall in UK demand.
Whitbread has been contacted for comment.
