New Management Team in Place at Whitbread

Hotel and restaurant operator unveils the new management line-up to oversee its newly-merged hotels and restaurants business. The company hopes the move will save it £25 million a year by 2009.

HOTEL and restaurant operator Whitbread has unveiled the new management team to oversee its newly-merged hotels and restaurants business.

Following the announcement from the company last week that it is merging the two operations in a bid to save £25m a year, the company admitted the move would lead to a small number of job losses.

Whitbread - owner owns Premier Inn, Costa Coffee, Beefeater and Brewers Fayre today confirmed that Patrick Dempsey has been appointed managing director of hotels & restaurants, reporting directly to chief executive Alan Parker.

The executive team will comprise of:

* Mark Anderson, UK property director

* Colin Elliot, chief operating officer, international

* Paul Flaum, chief operating officer, UK

* Maria Horn, HR director

* Andy Pellington, finance director

* Gerard Tempest, marketing Director

* Ben Wishart, change and information director

The company confirmed that Mark Philips, managing director of the restaurants division, will leave Whitbread at the end of the month.