Whitbread , owner of Premier Inn , has announced plans to cut about 3,800 jobs in the UK and Ireland as part of a new five-year strategy to achieve £250 million in cost savings.

The hospitality group cited cost pressures from business rates and national insurance contributions as a key driver for the move.

Its new five-year plan includes the increased cost-saving target and steps to cut capital spending by more than £1 billion.

Whitbread will sell off £1.5 billion worth of its freehold properties – meaning the hotels it owns outright – to “fund future growth and increasingly look to grow on a leasehold basis” and replace its 197 restaurants with an integrated food and drink model, deemed more efficient and preferred by hotel guests.

The group owns restaurant chains including Beefeater, Bar + Block and Brewers Fayre.

Whitbread said the plans to reduce its 30,000-strong workforce were subject to employee consultation, and that it expects to retain a significant proportion of those affected through…