{
  "id": 11662378,
  "title": "Costa Coffee hails ‘strong progress’ after Coca-Cola scraps sale",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/costa-coffee-hails-strong-progress-after-coca-cola-scraps-sale",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-03T10:42:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/costa-coffee-hails-strong-progress-after-coca-cola-scraps-sale/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Costa Coffee has expressed satisfaction with its year of \"strong progress\" following the decision by its owner, Coca-Cola, to abandon plans to sell the company. Costa reported a five percent revenue growth to £1.3 billion and returned to operating profit last year. Prior to abandoning the sale in January, Coca-Cola had been targeting a private equity buyer, but failed to find suitable bidders meeting their expectations. Costa's chief executive, Philippe Schaillee, attributed the positive results to the company's investment plan, which includes branch refurbishments and product innovation leading to increased sales and enhanced productivity. The firm recorded an operating profit of £20 million in 2025, reversing a £13.5 million loss in 2024, which was caused by \"soft footfall\" and competition from value-led chains. However, Costa's statutory profit decreased by seven percent to £62 million. Despite cheaper coffee alternatives gaining market share, Costa is slowing its expansion efforts, opening 79 new UK stores in 2025 and planning to add between 40 and 50 more in the following year. Currently, Costa holds the highest proportion of sites within a five-minute drive of another brand (73 percent) among UK coffee chains. Costa is investing in Matcha and Ube drinks, which have driven customer growth, especially during summer heatwaves. The company serves over 4 million cups of coffee daily and has 6 million active loyalty scheme members. Costa was acquired by Coca-Cola for £3.9 billion from Whitbread in 2018, with initial interest from TDR Capital, Bain Capital, and Apollo.",
  "summary": "Costa Coffee has hailed a year of “strong progress” after owner Coca-Cola scrapped plans to sell it, with the coffee chain saying its refurbishment plan is paying off. The UK’s second-largest coffee chain grew revenue by five per cent to £1.3bn last year and returned to operating profit. Coca-Cola had been hoping to offload the [...]",
  "key_points": [
    "Costa Coffee reports strong progress with 5% revenue growth to £1.3 billion",
    "Coca-Cola abandoned sale plans in January, citing difficulty finding suitable bidders",
    "CEO Philippe Schallier credits investment plan, branch refurbishments, and product innovation"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}