Whitbread PLC — Proxy Solicitation & Information Statement 2012

May 8, 2012

You have elected to receive the Annual Report and Accounts, Notices of Meetings and other documents relating to Whitbread PLC (the "Company") electronically through the Company's website. Should you wish to revert to receiving paper copies of documents, you can request this by contacting our registrars, Capita Registrars, by telephone on 0844 855 2327, or online at www.whitbread-shares.com. You can also register to receive notifications such as this by email in future. This letter introduces the Company's Annual Report and Accounts 2011/12 and the Notice of Annual General Meeting. It is not a summary of those documents and should not be regarded as a substitute for reading the documents themselves. The Notice of the Annual General Meeting and accompanying documents should be read before taking a decision on the proposals contained therein.

8 May 2012

Dear Shareholder,

This letter is to notify you that the Annual Report and Accounts 2011/12 and the Notice of Annual General Meeting ("AGM") are now available at www.whitbread.co.uk. By visiting the website you will be able to access these documents. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for agreeing to receive these documents via the website. This not only saves money for your Company, but also has a positive impact on the environment.

The AGM of the Company will be held at 2.00pm on Tuesday 19 June 2012 at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London, SW1P 3EE. The meeting will be followed by afternoon tea and an opportunity to meet members of your Board, as well as other senior executives of the Company. Please note that, as in previous years, all voting at this year's AGM will be by poll using electronic handsets.

If you are not able to attend the AGM you are still able to vote on the resolutions. You can appoint one or more individuals to act as your proxy so that they can attend, speak and vote at the meeting according to your instructions. Your proxy or proxies do not have to be shareholders of Whitbread themselves and can be someone you know personally who has agreed to represent you at the AGM. Alternatively, you may appoint the Chairman of the meeting as your proxy and he will vote on your behalf in accordance with your wishes. Enclosed with this letter you will find a personalised Form of Proxy for the 2012 AGM. You are able to submit your Form of Proxy by post, through the Internet or via the CREST system as detailed below.

• Post: Please use the enclosed freepost envelope to send the Form of Proxy to our registrars, Capita. Your Form of Proxy must reach the registrars by the deadline stipulated below.
• Internet: You can submit your Form of Proxy via the internet by accessing the share portal at www.whitbread-shares.com. Your Form of Proxy must be submitted by the deadline below. If you have not previously used the share portal, you will be asked to register for an account. In order to register you will need your postcode and your investor code (which can be found on your share certificate).
• CREST system: CREST messages must be received by our agent (ID number RA10) by the deadline below.

Please note that the deadline for receipt of the Form of Proxy is 2.00pm on Friday 15 June 2012. If the meeting is adjourned, the Form of Proxy must be received not less than 48 hours before the time appointed for the adjourned meeting (excluding non-working days).

If you are a qualifying shareholder (i.e. you hold at least 64 Whitbread shares), you can request a set of shareholder offer vouchers by calling our registrars, Capita, on 0844 855 2327, or by emailing whitbread@ capitaregistrars.com. I would like to emphasise that it is not because you are receiving documentation electronically that you have not received these vouchers. Those shareholders that have requested a hard copy of the Annual Report and AGM Notice will need to request vouchers in the same way.

I look forward to seeing you at the AGM.

Yours sincerely,

Anthony Habgood Chairman

Whitbread PLC Whitbread Court Houghton Hall Business Park Porz Avenue Dunstable Bedfordshire LU5 5XE