Costa's new 'flat' coffee gives a boost to sales

The launch of the strong white coffee at the end of January provided a new year boost for the Costa business, with the fourth quarter sales growth of 9.5 per cent ahead of the 6.7 per cent seen in the third quarter.

Parent group Whitbread – which on Wednesday named easyJet boss Andy Harrison as its incoming chief executive – also received a lift from Costa as group like-for-like sales rose 3 per cent in the fourth quarter to February 18.

There was better trading across a number of its operations, with a marked improvement in the Premier Inn budget hotels chain, which turned a 3.1 per cent third quarter sales decline into growth of 1.7 per cent. Its pub restaurant arm – including the Brewers Fayre business – was hit by the recent snow and adverse weather, with sales growth slowing from 2.3 per cent to 1.3 per cent, according to Whitbread.

Costa Coffee has been Whitbread's star performer throughout the recession and has grown to more than 1,500 outlets in the UK and overseas.

The group is also expanding its international footprint further with the acquisition of the 89-strong coffeeheaven business in Central and Eastern Europe.

Like-for-like sales at Costa in the first 51 weeks of the year to date are 5.3 per cent higher, although the wider group's sales have slipped 0.7 per cent amid tougher conditions elsewhere.

The hotels and restaurants division, which includes Beef-eater,

suffered sales declines of 1.9 per cent over the year so far, while its Premier Inn business has seen a fall of 4.6 per cent.

But the fourth quarter was far better for both operations, with the hotels and restaurants arm posting its first quarterly like-for-like sales growth since the start of the financial year, up 1.5 per cent.

Across Premier Inn, revenues per available room – a key measure in the hotel sector – fell 6.9 per cent since the start of its financial year, although Whitbread said this was better than the 10.2 per cent fall seen in the wider sector.