The number of Costa coffee shops globally will double over the next five years, parent company Whitbread has revealed.
Chief executive Alan Parker said the leisure giant was aiming for "disciplined growth" across the group, including the worldwide expansion of Costa stores from 1,000 to 2,000.
In the UK, it will focus on opening branches in major towns and cities, retail parks and roadside stores. Costa’s in-store concessions - such as its partnership with Tesco - will also grow.
Costa opened 182 new stores in the UK last year, bringing the size of its UK estate to 695. It has 1,000 stores internationally, and last month opened in Moscow - its first Russian store.
Globally, Costa’s like-for-like sales were up 23% to £216 million, with profits up by 17% to £20.8 million during the financial year to 28 February. Overall, Whitbread’s revenue was up 11.3% to £1,187.8 million, and profits before tax were up £26.3 million to £210.3 million.
Founded as a roastery in Lambeth, London in 1971 by brothers Bruno and Sergio Costa, the company’s first espresso bar opened seven years later in Vauxhall, London.
Whitbread bought the company in 1995 for £12.3 million.
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