Whitbread confirms plan to spin-off Costa

Whitbread has committed to a demerger of Costa “providing shareholder with investment in two distinct, focused and market-leading businesses”. A statement to the London Stock Exchange said that the demerger of the coffee chain will be “pursued as fast as practical and appropriate to optimise value for shareholders” and is expected to be completed within 24 months. It added that the appropriate time will be taken to “complete critical transformation and infrastructure improvement objectives that will put both Premier Inn and Costa in a strong position to thrive as separate entities”. Chief executive, Alison Brittain, said that Whitbread will remain the owner and operator of the hotel business, and a “key priority will be continuing the development of Premier Inn by creating a business of scale in Germany to replicate the success we’ve had in the UK.” Click here for the full Investegate announcement