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RNS Number : 1416C
Whitbread PLC
02 March 2011
2nd March 2011
WHITBREAD BUYS COFFEE NATION FOR GBP59.5m ACCELERATING COSTA'S
GROWTH
Costa announced today the acquisition of Coffee Nation and its
plan to launch a new brand, Costa Express which will target the
self-serve coffee bar sector, providing great tasting Costa coffee
on the go.
Costa is the UK's largest and fastest-growing coffee shop brand
with over 1850 stores, 1200 in the UK and a further 650
internationally. This acquisition provides Costa with access to new
types of location and creates a growth opportunity in the UK's
emerging self-serve coffee bar sector, which currently comprises
c.2000 units of which Coffee Nation operates 900. Costa will use
the purchase of Coffee Nation to develop Costa Express and is
targeting 3000 bars across the UK over the next five years, capable
of quadrupling its profit contribution. This is in addition to
Costa's continuing rapid growth of its store network.
Coffee Nation's self-serve coffee bars are fundamentally
different from typical hot drink vending machines because they use
fresh milk and freshly ground coffee. Costa Express coffee will be
provided by the Costa Roastery in London. Coffee Nation's unique
combination of innovative machine technology and advanced
monitoring systems gives considerable competitive advantage and
they have established a quality customer base including Tesco, Moto
and Welcome Break.
Commenting on the acquisition, Andy Harrison, Chief Executive of
Whitbread PLC said: "Customers increasingly want great tasting
coffee on the go, which makes the self-serve coffee market very
attractive. This acquisition provides an exciting launch pad to
develop 3000 Costa Express bars across the UK, providing an
additional growth lever for the Costa brand and making Costa
available to more customers in more locations."
Costa Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Whitbread, the UK's
largest hotel and restaurant group, will purchase Coffee Nation
from Milestone Capital and Investec Growth & Acquisition
Finance and members of the existing management team. Costa is
paying GBP59.5m in cash for the entire issued share capital of
Coffee Nation including the repayment of Coffee Nation's existing
debt.
* ENDS *
For more information please contact:
Investor Relations
Christopher Rogers, Whitbread PLC +44 (0) 20 7806 5491
Press Contacts
Anna Glover, Whitbread PLC +44 (0) 7768 917 651
For photographs please visit our media library on
www.whitbreadimages.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Whitbread PLC is the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group
operating market-leading businesses in budget hotels, restaurants
and coffee shops. Its well-loved brands are Premier Inn, Beefeater,
Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Taybarns and Costa Coffee. Whitbread
PLC employs over 40,000 people globally and serves 10 million
customers every month in over 2,000 outlets across the UK. In the
six months ended 2 September 2010, Whitbread PLC reported a 14.5%
increase in Group Revenue to GBP805.4 million and Underlying Profit
before tax of GBP151.8 million up 28.4%. Whitbread PLC is listed on
the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100. It
is also a member of the FTSE4Good Index.
Costa: The UKs favourite coffee shop(*)
"Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain in the UK and Ireland" by
Allegra Strategies, November 2010
Costa was founded by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in
1971 and is now part of the Whitbread family of brands.
Just 1% of the world's production of coffee is good enough for
us to choose from. Only the very best coffee available can go into
creating the unique taste and aroma of our Mocha Italia blend.
Costa Coffee was the first UK coffee shop chain to commit to
sourcing beans from Rainforest Alliance (RFA) Certified farms. All
Costa coffee comes from 100% RFA certified farms.
*Allegra's research of 16,458 consumers for their Project Cafe
10 report in December 2010 reveals Costa Coffee is now the UK's
favourite coffee shop.
Coffee Nation
Coffee Nation's estimated Full Year results for the year to
31(st) March 2011 are for a Turnover of GBP25m and EBITDA of
GBP4.2m. The estimated EBITDA run rate as at 31(st) March 2011 will
be around GBP5.5m - GBP6.0m.
This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements
or projections made by Whitbread PLC. Although Whitbread PLC
believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any
statements about future outlook are subject to risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual outcomes and results to differ
materially from those projected.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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