Whitbread plans to invest £3m in 35 new Costa Coffee Stores in the UK between April and early 1998.
It will invest about £3m in the acquisition of mainly town centre sites in the next financial year. With 55 outlets, Costa is the largest chain of real coffee shops in the UK.
Adrian Nelson, national acquisitions manager at Whitbread Property, said the expansion was the result of an ever growing demand for real coffee in the UK. “It works well in any location with a high pedestrian traffic,” he said.
Costa, which already owns 13 outlets at airports, has also announced that it has taken over six Steff’s Cafes airport concessions at Stansted, Gatwick and Heathrow.
By the end of February 1997, Costa will have opened five new stores in Putney High Street, Goodge Street, and Harrow on the Hill in Greater London, and Waverley Station, Edinburgh.
EGi News 28/02/97
