Costa Coffee profits rise again — theguardian.com

Britain's seemingly insatiable appetite for coffee helped Costa owner Whitbread beat City forecasts for annual profits. Profits at the coffee chain's 1,755 shops in the UK and Ireland rose 22% to £110m with revenue at stores open a year or longer up 5.7%. Costa opened 177 branches in Britain last year and served 400m cups of coffee. The chain's worldwide sales were £1.2bn and are on course for a target of £2bn by 2018 as it targets 2,200 UK stores and expands abroad.

Read More