FTSE 100 edges up as Anglo American names new chief executive January 8, 2013 Markets made a hesitant start to the day, and the FTSE 100 edged up slightly in early trading. News that Mark Cutifani has been appointed to the top job at global miner Anglo American stole the headlines this morning. He starts the role on 3 April and takes over from current head Cynthia Carroll. As [...]
Costa energises first-half profit for Whitbread October 23, 2012 WHITBREAD yesterday warned that growth in the second half of the year would be more subdued after the Olympics and a wet summer helped drive up first-half profits by 11 per cent. The owner of Premier Inn and the Costa coffee chain said a strong performance across both brands had helped push revenues up by [...]
Costa buzzing as fury over rival boosts sales December 11, 2012 CONSUMER anger over the tax affairs of its main rival was highlighted as a reason for better-than-expected sales figures from Costa Coffee yesterday. The UK’s largest coffee chain saw a 7.1 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 29 November, Costa’s parent company Whitbread said yesterday. Commentators put some of this [...]
Whitbread sees bumper sales as Costa thrives September 6, 2012 WHITBREAD, the owner of the Costa Coffee chain and Premier Inn hotels, boasted thriving sales in the second quarter of the year after winning over customers during the Olympics with competitive room rates and cups of coffee. Shares in the FTSE 100 firm rose more than five per cent yesterday after it posted like-for-like sales [...]
UK set to celebrate the official end of the recession after Games boost October 21, 2012 THE UK is this week expected to officially exit recession, with news from the Office of National Statistics set to confirm the double dip is over. The ONS will publish its first estimate of third quarter GDP, with analysts predicting impressive growth, due in part to the Olympics. Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said: [...]
Break up Whitbread and let Costa star in its own show October 23, 2012 IN a day peppered with corporate disappointments, Whitbread and its shareholders will have been more than happy to have seen their first-half results described as “outstanding” on more than one occasion. The FTSE 100 leisure firm used the term itself in its results presentation, and analysts were also keen to heap praise on a close-to 30 [...]
Whitbread to hire Cadbury September 4, 2012 WHITBREAD, the owner of Costa Coffee and Premier Inn, yesterday announced it has poached Nicholas Cadbury to be its new finance director from electronics components group Premier Farnell. Cadbury will succeed Christopher Rogers, who has become managing director of Costa. Rogers’ move, which was announced in April, sparked speculation that Whitbread planned to spin off [...]
Whitbread sees sales stirred up by Costa Coffee June 19, 2012 WHITBREAD yesterday reported a robust rise in sales on the back of a strong performance at its coffee shop chain Costa Coffee and hotel group Premier Inn, sending shares up 6.3 per cent. Underlying sales rose 4.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to 31 May, boosted by a 8.4 per cent rise in like-for-like [...]
BEST of the BROKERS August 13, 2012 WHITBREAD Deutsche Bank yesterday downgraded the owner of Costa Coffee and Premier Inn from “buy” to “hold”, despite raising its price target to 2,350p from 2,200p. Analysts at the bank said that after such a strong performance, with shares up 32 per cent in the past year, “we can see a period of consolidation for [...]
Costa Coffee owner Whitbread boosts sales by 13.9 per cent June 19, 2012 Sales at hotel and restaurant group Whitbread, the owner of Costa Coffee, were up 13.9 per cent in the last quarter. Excluding new openings, like-for-like sales were up 4.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to 31 May 2012, the group said this morning. Most of the growth came from the firm’s flagship coffee chain, [...]