Elliott is also understood to be keen for Whitbread to bolster its board with directors having hotel industry experience. Sources close to the company said it is actively searching for board members with experience of operating hotels in continental Europe. On Tuesday, Whitbread said that it would return up to £2bn to investors in June through a share buy-back scheme. The buy-back is likely to strengthen Elliott's position on the shareholder register as, according to sources, it is "very unlikely" that the fund manager will not participate – even if Whitbread offers to buy back shares at a 10pc-20pc premium to the prevailing market price. Whitbread and Elliott declined to comment.