Costa Coffee and Premier Inn sales boost owners, Whitbread

THE mild autumn did not deter shoppers from popping into Costa Coffee, helping the owner of the high street chain and Premier Inn hotels to brew up higher sales.

00:00, Fri, Dec 12, 2014

Coffee brewing GETTY

Whitbread said Costa had a softer September due to warm weather

Whitbread said Costa had a softer September due to the warm weather, which hit clothing retailers, but the impact was marginal.

Finance chief Nicholas Cadbury said the chain, which is gearing up for Christmas with specials such as sticky toffee lattes, had a wider audience than just shoppers. “Costa has become a meeting venue,” he said.

Costa’s like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to November 27 rose 5.2 per cent while Premier Inn lifted 8.5 per cent and group sales rose 6 per cent. Shares rose 36p to 4605p.

Premier Inn has about 700 hotels in the UK, Middle East and India and plans to launch in Germany at the end of next year.

Pub restaurants Beefeater and Brewer’s Fayre also lifted sales 1.6 per cent, with Christmas bookings slightly up on last year.

Cadbury said demand for hotel rooms in London was high but volatile elsewhere. “We’re fairly cautious about how the general consumer is doing in the regions.”