Coffee giant perks up flagging UK economy

However, as Mr Clegg celebrated by popping into the Starbucks branch in Chiswick, London, there was grim news in the services sector, with the announcement that around 1,500 jobs could be at risk. Services company Carillion said the planned cuts were in response to Government proposals to halve subsidies on solar power.

Starbucks revealed yesterday that it is hoping to expand the number of drive-through branches in the Britain from nine to 200.

Starbucks said that around half of the drive-throughs will be operated under licence by petrol forecourt retailer Euro Garages – which mainly operates in the north of England – while the remaining stores will be owned by the company.

The announcement, which came two weeks after official figures revealed youth unemployment had exceeded one million, was welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron, who said it was a “great boost to the British economy”.

At the same time, Carillion revealed that it had written to employees at its energy services division, made up from the Eaga business it bought earlier this year, telling them it had launched a 90-day consultation on how to reshape the business.

The company believes the Government’s plans to cut feed-in tariffs on installing solar panels on homes were greater and sooner than expected, leading to a “significant” reduction in its market. It is understood that about a third of the jobs, or about 1,500 staff, could be axed, although no decision has yet been made.

Carillion bought Newcastle-based Eaga, one of the UK’s biggest suppliers of heating and renewable energy services, in February.

But the Government has since announced that feed-in tariffs, which supplement the amount of money received by supplying solar energy to the National Grid, could be slashed as soon as December 12.

The Government has said that the move is to make small-scale renewable subsidies sustainable as the cost of solar panels falls.

However, it has attracted protests that the policy will wreck a growing industry.