UK: Costa Coffee owner optimistic after profits boost

The owner of the Harvester, Costa Coffee and Premier Inn chains posted better than expected pre-tax profits today, as it said it was confident of growing the business through a consumer downturn.

Whitbread’s surplus of £210.3m (€266m) from continuing operations for the year to February 28 represented a 26.3% gain on a year earlier. It also said trading since the year end had been “encouraging”.