Market report: Whitbread sinks on £1bn rights issue

Shares in Whitbread sank 13pc after the Premier Inn owner revealed plans to tap investors for £1bn to shore up its finances as most of its hotels and restaurants remain closed due to Covid-19. The FTSE 100 company said the purpose of the rights issue was to ensure it “emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic in the strongest possible position”. Whitbread said it had entered the current period of crisis with a “strong balance sheet”, adding that it had taken “decisiv