Costa drives Whitbread sales

COSTA coffee was again credited with helping leisure group Whitbread deliver a strong trading performance in its first quarter.

Like-for-like sales across the coffee chain were up 8.4% in the 13 weeks to May 31, while Whitbread’s Premier Inn hotels saw a 4.3% uplift; sales in its restaurants, which include the Beefeater brand, rose 2.1%.