Premier Inn owner Whitbread has revealed it will axe around 1,500 jobs across the UK amid plans to slash its chain of branded restaurants by more than 200 in favour of building more hotel rooms.

The group, which owns restaurants including Brewers Fayre and Beefeater, said the job cuts are still subject to consultation and come from its total UK workforce of 37,000 employees.

It said the move was part of a plan to “optimise” its food and drink offering to add more than 3,500 hotel rooms across its estate and increase “operational efficiencies”.

Whitbread said it plans to sell 126 of its less profitable branded restaurants, with 21 sales already having gone through.

It will also convert 112 restaurants into new hotel rooms.

Dominic Paul, Whitbread chief executive, said: “We recognise that our transition will impact some of our team members so we will be providing support throughout this process and we are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of those affected to remain with us.”

The cuts come after Whitbread’s pre-tax profit rose 21% to £452 million for the year ending February 29.