Whitbread the owners of Costa Coffee have announced their intention to split off the coffee chain as a separate company. Costa will be listed on the stock exchange and the flotation is planned for 2020. It was reported that the change is in the best interests of the shareholders.

Costa Coffee, founded in London in 1971, has expanded rapidly since it was acquired by Whitbread in 1995. Costa is most likely the biggest of the UK coffee chains. In 2018 Whitbread stated it had over 2,400 shops in the UK and an additional 1,400 outlets worldwide across 31 countries.