History
Our history
Our story begins in August 1720 with the birth of Samuel Whitbread, his brewing apprenticeship in 1736, then the founding of his first brewery six years later.
How we became who we are
In 1750 Samuel Whitbread created the first purpose-built mass-production brewery in the UK, when he moved his brewing operations to Chiswell Street on the eastern rim of Georgian London. Over the following years, Whitbread became a household name throughout this country.
Whitbread in the 21st century
2001 was the year we became the company we are today. We sold our breweries and left the pub and bar business, refocusing on the growth areas of hotels and restaurants. Our reinvention as the UK's leading hospitality business naturally coincided with the ending of this country’s brewing and pub-owning tradition, started by Samuel Whitbread over 250 years earlier.
Although our core businesses have changed, we remain true to Samuel’s founding spirit by genuinely focusing on our customers, striving for the best and recognising that progress comes from innovative thinking.
Key dates
2010 New Chief Executive, Andy Harrison, joins Whitbread
2009 Whitbread launches Good Together corporate responsibility strategy
2008 Whitbread exchanged 44 pubs for 21 Express by Holiday Express hotels
2007 Whitbread announced conditional sale of David Lloyd Leisure
2007 Whitbread sells TGI Friday business
2006 Announced an agreement to sell its 50% shareholding in Pizza Hut UK Ltd
2006 Sale of 239 pub restaurants to M&B
2005 Whitbread announces plans to sell Marriott business
2004 Whitbread acquires Premier Lodge
2004 Announce plans to sell three-star Courtyard by Marriott Hotels in the UK
2003 Acquisition of Cannons Health & Fitness BV (Netherlands)
2002 Sale of Pelican and BrightReasons
2001 Sale of Pub and Bars
2000 Sale of First Quench, Whitbread's joint venture off-licence business
2000 Sale of Beer Company
2000 Acquisition of Swallow Group PLC
Previous History (PDF, size 6.2MB)
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