UK-based global hotel, coffee shop and restaurant firm Whitbread plans to expand its Costa Coffee business in China.

One hundred more Costa Coffee outlets are planned across the mainland this year, which would take its store count to 264 by the year’s end.

Costa Coffee, founded by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971, opened 69 outlets in China last year.

“It’s a quicker rate than we planned,” said group finance director Chris Rogers. “The 164 stores there are doing well with green tea lattes popular.”

Costa Coffee generated an overall underlying profits up 38 per cent to £69.7 million (US$113.05 million) for the year to March 1. During the same period, the coffee chain opened 175 stores in the UK and 157 overseas, which took its total store count to 2203.

Costa Coffee credits its success to its ‘four Ms’: Miscela which means blend, Macinatura meaning grind, Macchina which means machine and Manna which means hand or skill.

GB