Shares in the British company, originally a brewer, were up 3.5% to 3,437 pence by 0737 GMT to lead London's blue-chip (.FTSE) index. Leisure and business demand are showing signs of staying, Paul said, adding forward-booked revenue was ahead of last year. Whitbread, which owns restaurant chains such as Bar+Block Steakhouse and Brewers Fayre has also seen signs of food inflation easing. The company announced a further 300 million pound share buyback on Wednesday and proposed an interim dividend per share of 34.1 pence, up 40% on last year. ($1 = 0.8193 pounds)Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Lee Smith, WTB.L, Dominic Paul, Paul, Whitbread, Hargreaves, Derren Nathan, Brewers Fayre, Eva Mathews, Subhranshu Sahu, Jason Neely Organizations: Premier Inn Hotel, Brewers, REUTERS, H1, Whitbread, Inn, Thomson Locations: Durham, County Durham, Britain, British, Germany, Bengaluru