** Citigroup resumes coverage for leisure sector companies, as it sees multi-year, double-digit growth potential in sector's leaders and chooses Whitbread WTB.L and Sodexo EXHO.PA its overall and contract catering subsector, respectively, top picks

** It highlights that investors can find high-quality industry leaders that compound earnings, supported by favourable fragmented market structures enabling technology deployment at scale, which further boosts competitiveness

** It also notes attractive pricing dynamics in hotels, with dynamic pricing according to demand, and in caterers, with about 65% contracts inflation-linked and structural cost advantage

** The broker adds the sector's exposure to key themes of, for instance, experiential consumption, nutrition, and both cyclical and defensive demand drivers also adds to its appeal

** It resumes Whitbread ("buy") on anticipated positive RevPAR growth and Sodexo ("buy") citing H2-weighted contract wins

(Reporting by Marta Serafinko in Gdansk)

((Marta.Serafinko@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 00;))