Whitbread has appointed Alison Brittain as chief executive, replacing current boss Andy Harrison, who will retire in February.

The company behind Costa Coffee and Premier Inn will become the sixth FTSE 100 company to have a female chief executive officer.

Alison Brittain was head of the retail division at Lloyds Banking Group and has previously worked for Santander and Barclays. She is also a non-executive director at Marks and Spencer.

The number of women on the boards of FTSE 100 companies has risen over the past four years to almost a quarter of all board members.