惠特博德（Whitbread）首席执行官多米尼克·保罗（Dominic Paul）在商业税率上涨导致部分新英国酒店选址成本过高后，取消了相关计划。
Plc’s Chief Executive Office Dominic Paul scrapped plans for some new UK hotel sites after higher business rates made them too costly to pursue.
该公司旗下拥有Premier Inn品牌，目前承担着额外1亿英镑（约1.32亿美元）的税收成本。保罗在接受采访时表示：“如果我们不面临这些税收增加，我们本可以在帮助年轻人重返就业方面发挥更重要的作用。”
The Premier Inn-owner is shouldering an additional £100 million ($132 million) in tax costs. “If we weren’t facing these increases, we could play an even more important role in getting young people back into work,” Paul said in an interview.
自去年预算案取消疫情期间的商业税率减免，并自2026年4月起引入更高的房产估值以来，英国酒店业的成本一直在上升。政府此后宣布为酒吧、俱乐部和现场音乐场所提供额外减免，但酒店被排除在外。
The UK hospitality sector has faced mounting costs following last year’s budget, which ended pandemic-era business rates relief and introduced higher property valuations from April 2026. The government has since announced additional relief for pubs, clubs and live music venues, through hotels are excluded.
美国酒店运营商希尔顿全球控股公司（Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.）上月在与WPI Economics联合发布的一份报告中表示，如果政府降低酒店业税收，英国酒店有潜力雇佣更多年轻人，并有助于缓解青年失业问题。
US hotel operator Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. said in a report with WPI Economics last month that UK hotels could hire more young people and help tackle youth unemployment if the government cut taxes on the hospitality industry.
保罗表示：“我们失去了创造就业的机会，尤其是许多酒店本来可以在英国亟需就业的地区创造大量岗位。”
“We’ve lost the opportunity to create jobs and particularly a lot of those hotels would be creating jobs in regions of the UK that need jobs,” Paul said.
根据周二发布的声明，惠特博德上半年收入增长2%，达到15.7亿英镑。英国住宿销售额增长3%，德国增长18%。保罗表示，业绩增长部分得益于“Premier Inn品牌的强势”。惠特博德股价在伦敦一度上涨3.6%。
Whitbread’s revenue grew 2% to £1.57 billion in the first half, according to a statement on Tuesday. Accommodation sales increased 3% in the UK and 18% in Germany. Paul said the performance was partly driven by the “strength of the Premier Inn brand.”Shares of Whitbread rose as much as 3.6% in London.
上个月，持有惠特博德6.4%股份的活动投资者科维克斯管理公司（Corvex Management）呼吁召开股东大会，称该公司“在多个时间范围内业绩落后于同行和更广泛的市场”。惠特博德今日表示，股东大会将于11月9日举行，以审议由科维克斯提名的新董事会成员任命事项。该酒店运营商已敦促股东投票反对该提议。
Last month, activist investor Corvex Management, which holds a 6.4% stake in Whitbread, called for a general meeting, saying the company had “underperformed its peers and the wider market over multiple time horizons.”Whitbread said today the meeting will be held Nov. 9 to consider the appointment of a new board director selected by Corvex. The hotel operator has asked shareholders to vote against the motion.
保罗表示：“我们 unanimously 一致认为，这位活动投资者进入我们董事会是没有意义的。”
“We are unanimous in our view that it does not make sense for this activist investor to get a seat on our board,” Paul said.
惠特布雷德表示，其正按计划推进五年计划，目标是到2031财年实现税前调整后利润增加2.75亿英镑，同时实现20亿英镑的股东回报。
Whitbread said it’s on track to complete its five-year plan targeting £275 million in incremental adjusted pretax profit by fiscal 2031, alongside £2 billion in shareholder returns.
英国首相安迪·伯纳姆于8月启动了对商业房产税估值的独立审查，该审查可能在2029年为酒吧和酒店带来改革。
Prime Minister Andy Burnham launched an independent review of commercial property tax valuations in August, which may lead to reforms for pubs and hotels in 2029.