Our History  Looking back it is not easy to determine where the Whitbread story begins. Historians may point validly to August 1720 and the birth of Samuel Whitbread, his apprenticeship as a brewer in 1736 or indeed the founding of his first brewery six years later.
There are, however, two dates separated by over 250 years, which may truly be said to mark the defining events in the company's history. In 1750 Samuel Whitbread moved his brewing operations to premises in Chiswell Street on the eastern rim of Georgian London, establishing the first purpose-built mass-production brewery in Britain. Samuel's family name quickly became synonymous with the brewing industry he came to lead. The company he founded, and the beer it produced in ever-increasing quantities, entered the national consciousness, laying the foundations for one of Britain's most enduring business success stories. Yet if 1750 marks the emergence of Whitbread as a force in British business and culture, the year 2001 must be considered the date of the company's renaissance.
The end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st marked a watershed in the company's history, as Whitbread sold its breweries and then exited its pubs and bars business. After several decades of diversification, during which the beer and pubs giant branched out into new markets (including brief yet lucrative flirtations with wines, spirits and night clubs), Whitbread re-focused its business on the growth areas of hotels and restaurants. The reinvention of Whitbread as the UK's leading leisure business naturally coincided with the end of the brewing and pub-owning tradition which Samuel Whitbread had begun over 250 years earlier. Yet although the events of 2001 differ so markedly in substance from those of 1750, the desire for business focus and the recognition that progress is only possible through innovation, remain true to Whitbread's founding spirit.
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Whitbread PLC is the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group
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