
The British coffeehouse brand Costa Coffee is the UK’s leading coffee shop chain, operating the highest number of outlets in the UK as well as in the European coffeehouse market. Store numbers have significantly increased over the last ten years, reaching a total of 2,422 Costa coffee shops in the UK in 2018.
In the UK coffee shop market, Costa contributes some of the highest revenues, outperforming other major coffee market players including Starbucks and Caffè Nero. Overall the value of the coffee market has been increasing. Spending in quick service coffee outlets was forecast to reach 2.4 billion British pounds in 2017 and visits expected to reach 673 million.
On a global scale, Costa ranks as the second largest coffeehouse chain behind Starbucks, still making a significant contribution to global coffee market revenues. Parent company Whitbread generated total revenues of 3.3 billion British pounds in the fiscal year 2017/18. Whitbread also owns the UK’s leading hotel brand Premier Inn.