Alison Brittain, Whitbread chief executive, recognised the coffee shop’s brand strength and international growth potential, and said that with the sale, Whitbread would be able to focus on growth for its hotel chain, Premier Inn.
She said: “The sale of Costa to Coca-Cola is another successful landmark in the 276-year history of Whitbread. Whitbread acquired Costa in 1995, for £19 million when it had only 39 shops and successfully grew the business to be the UK’s favourite and largest coffee shop company.
“In more recent years, we have been focused on building Costa into a leading multi-channel, international coffee brand. This has resulted in this unique strategic opportunity to combine the Costa brand with Coca-Cola’s global scale, product and distribution capabilities. This combination will ensure new product development, continued growth in the UK and more rapid expansion overseas. As a result of this strategic sale our teams, pensioners, suppliers, shareholders and other stakeholders will all have the opportunity to share in the benefits.”
James Quincey, Coca-Cola President & CEO, said: “Costa gives Coca-Cola new capabilities and expertise in coffee, and our system can create opportunities to grow the Costa brand worldwide. Hot beverages are one of the few remaining segments of the total beverage landscape where Coca-Cola does not have a global brand. Costa gives us access to this market through a strong coffee platform. I’d like to welcome the team to Coca-Cola and look forward to working with them.”