Costa Coffee owner sees profits rise, but warns of increased costs

Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner Whitbread unveiled a hike in half-year profits but warned it will face up to an extra £20m a year in staff costs from impliementing the new UK living wage.

The group, which is one of the UK's biggest employers with around 48,000 staff, said it had already increased pay for baristas in its Costa Coffee chain by around 10% this month to take pay above the incoming UK living wage.