The UK’s largest hotel and restaurant group has raised £51m in a sale and leaseback agreement.

Whitbread confirmed today that it has exchanged agreements with NFU Mutual and Standard Life Assurance Ltd for the sale and leaseback of seven properties, operating as Premier Inns and joint site restaurants. Whitbread will continue to operate the properties through 25 year leases.

“This sale and leaseback is a continued evolution of our overall funding portfolio and follows our successful 2011 US private placement and bank refinancing,” says Nicholas Cadbury, group finance director of Whitbread PLC. “The significant book profit is a useful reminder of the value we create from our freehold developments and the strong asset backing to Whitbread’s balance sheet.”