Whitbread reported robust trading in its third quarter, during which its Costa Coffee chain looks like it may have benefited from the public outcry over Starbucks' tax arrangements.
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Costa remains Whitbread's growth engine, reporting a like-for-like sales increase of 7.1 per cent in the three months to 29 November. Total Costa sales rose 25.5 per cent, thanks to expansion of the store base including ongoing success in overseas markets.
Growth softened at the budget hotel and restaurant divisions as these operations settled down following the Olympics. But Whitbread's Premier Inn hotels still continued to outperform the sector, with underlying revenue per available room up 0.7 per cent and like-for-like restaurant sales 1.9 per cent ahead.
