Whitbread Group has chalked up a healthy 13 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £240m for the year to 4 March 2004, despite its luxury hotel brand Marriott putting in a poor performance.

Travel Inn, the group’s budget hotel brand, saw operating profit up by 11 per cent to £230m, but Marriott’s fell by 10 per cent.

The group’s high street restaurants, pub restaurants and David Lloyd Leisure health clubs also saw strong profits.

Chief executive, David Thomas, who is to be replaced by Alan Parker when he steps down in June, said: “The company I leave is very different from the one that I took on as chief executive in 1997.

“Whitbread is a more focused business: each of our brands has a strong claim to UK leadership; and the underlying prospects for further growth in each of their market segments – including our four-star hotels – are strong.”

He added that there is ‘renewed optimism’ for the Beefeater brand, with the new format starting to show ‘real promise’.