Exclusive – Costa Coffee reports turnover increases to £1.23bn but sees operating losses widen: Costa Coffee, the Coca-Cola Company-owned brand, has reported turnover increased 1% to £1,231,795,000 for the year ending 31 December 2024 compared with £1,222,856,000 the previous year. Of that figure, £1,195,904,000 came from sale of goods (2023: £1,187,893,000) and £35,891,000 from franchise fees (2023: £34,963,000). Geographically, £1,183,391,000 arose from the UK (2023: £1,177,032,000) and £48,404,000 from the rest of the world (2023: £45,824,000). However, revenue was still below the pre-covid figure of £1,344,138,000 reported in 2019. The company posted an operating loss of £13,490,000 (2023: £5,810,000), which it said was “primarily driven by challenging conditions with soft footfall and growth of value-led competitors”. The business made a pre-tax profit £67,027,000 (2023: loss of £13,847,000) driven by the operating loss, the receipt of dividend income of £85m (2023: £1m) and a tax credit of £2m (2023: tax charge £4m). The company said: “Costa utilised revenue growth management strategies to drive growth in transactions, pricing and mix along with efficiency programs to offset the impact of inflationary pressures on the cost of goods and operating expenses. The company continued to invest in new retail stores, renewing existing sites and proposition development. Shareholder's equity has decreased year on year, despite the profit after tax, due to a dividend paid to the company's parent of £80m (2023: £85m). On 2 April 2024, the company paid a dividend of £80m to its parent, European Refreshments Unlimited Company (2023: £85m). On 6 March 2025, the company received a dividend of £60m from its wholly owned subsidiary, Costa Express Holdings. On 2 April 2025, the company paid a dividend of £80m to its parent company.” Costa employs around 17,950 staff. This summer, it was reported Coca-Cola was exploring a sale of Costa, Britain’s biggest high street coffee brand, more than six years after acquiring the business in a move aimed at helping it reduce its reliance on sugary soft drinks. Earlier this month, the FT reported the proposed sale of Costa was at risk of collapse, and the soft drinks giant was holding last-ditch talks with private equity firm TDR Capital in an attempt to salvage it. The deal on the table included Coke retaining a minority stake in Costa, one of the people said, adding that the size of the stake could be adjusted in Coke’s favour in order to get a deal done. Coke wanted to get roughly £2bn for Costa. The drinks group paid £3.9bn to acquire Costa from Premier Inn owner Whitbread in 2018. Costa started life in 1971 in London and now has more than 2,700 shops in the UK and Ireland, and another 1,300 around the world.

Propel’s sector-leading guide to the UK’s 500 largest hospitality companies returns in January, to be made free to Premium subscribers on day of publication: The Propel 500 – 2026 report will analyse the companies leading the charge in hospitality, reporting on turnover, number of sites, and key staff. The guide will also include exclusive analysis to provide a full understanding of the market’s dynamics. Mark Wingett will delve into the mergers and acquisitions shaping the future of the top 500. Tim Street dissects the UK’s rapidly-developing franchise market and, as the experiential leisure sector becomes a cornerstone of modern hospitality, Katherine Doggrell will assess the rise of deals in the sector, as well as the shifts in the hotel industry. Data expert Mark Bentley, business development director at HDI, will look at emerging growth sectors and Meaningful Vision founder Maria Vanifatova will analyse the latest trends in the quick service restaurant market. Propel 500 – 2026 will be released on Friday, 9 January at 9am and will be available free to Premium Club subscribers. The report will be available to non-Premium Club subscribers for £595 plus VAT. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Exclusive – Costa Express pays £65m dividend but profit falls on £51m write-off: Costa Express has paid out a dividend of £65m following a year in which its turnover grew to a record £367m but saw its pre-tax profit decline in the 12 months to 31 December 2024 to £48.9m (2023: £86.6m), primarily reflects a write-off of £51m on certain prototypes, following management's strategic decision to discontinue their use. The company’s turnover of £363,045,000 in 2023, also a record, increased to £367,839,000 in the year to 31 December 2024. Of this, £359,286,000 was generated in the UK (2023: £356,241,000) and £8,554,000 in the rest of the world (2023: £6,804,000). The business said: “In 2024, the company achieved stable revenue growth supported by new placements and carefully targeted revenue growth management strategies delivering average transaction value growth in line with expectations. The company continues to rollout upgraded machines and work with partners to deliver new placements. Shareholder's equity has decreased year on year due to the aforementioned profit after tax, which was offset by a dividend paid to the parent company of £65m. On 27 March 2024, the company declared an in-specie dividend of £65m (£90 per share), payable to its parent, Costa Express Holdings (2023: nil). On 27 March 2024, the company assigned intercompany receivables of £65m from Costa to its parent, Costa Express Holdings, in performance of the in-specie dividend declared. On 6 March 2025, the company declared an in-specie dividend of £60m (£83 per share), payable to its parent, Costa Express Holdings. On 6 March 2025, the company assigned intercompany receivables of £60m from Costa to its parent, Costa Express Holdings, in performance of the in-specie dividend declared.” Costa Express operates in 20 international markets, with more than 16,873 coffee machines, up 5% on 2023. 

Exclusive – NWTC underlying full-year Ebitda up 19%, traded positively since year end: Graphite Capital-backed pub restaurant group New World Trading Company (NWTC), which operates 27 sites, the majority under The Botanist brand, has told Propel its underlying Ebitda for the year to 31 March 2025 increased 19% to £4m on the prior year and that it had “continued to trade positively since the year-end, particularly during the summer”. For the year to 31 March 2025, turnover stood at £69,021,898 (2024: £73,461,722), with a pre-tax loss of £13,947,975 (2024: £12,794,899). The company said: “The group has made considerable progress during the year despite the significant challenges facing the hospitality sector. The group delivered positive like-for-like sales, an increase in gross profit margin of more than one percentage point to 77.5%. Following the strengthening of the senior leadership team, the group undertook a strategic review which led to the directors proposing a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). The CVA refocused the business on its highly successful Botanist brand and enabled the exit of non-core sites. The CVA resulted in seven non-core sites being closed, either immediately or in January 2025. The directors believe that, following the CVA, the company is well placed to continue to trade profitably and build on the strong reputation of the Botanist brand. Following the CVA, the group launched a brand refresh for the Botanist including innovative new menus, new digital journeys and a new website. This innovation, combined with operational improvements, has resulted in continued like-for-like growth of 4% in the seven accounting periods to October 2025. Site labour as a percentage of revenue for the year was 35.6%, a slight increase on 2024 at 35.2%, however the impact of increasing employment costs was reduced through labour efficiency measures. The site level like-for-like Ebitda increased by 1% in the year to £8.7m (2024: £8.3m). Despite this improvement in underlying Ebitda, interest costs relating to the capital structure of the group and exceptional costs incurred through the CVA meant the group made a £13.9m loss during the financial year. Since the end of the year, the group has opened another Botanist site in Bournemouth. The site has been very successful, outperforming expectations with sales ahead of budget by more than £1m after six months of trading.” The company told Propel that preparatory work is underway for a new site in Lichfield, with construction expected to commence in the new year. Amber Wood, chief executive of NWTC, told Propel earlier this month: “While market conditions remain challenging, we are pleased with the progress we've made at NWTC. It is particularly pleasing to see the continued impact of the Botanist brand and service refresh, driven by the commitment of our teams across the business. That progress has also been recognised externally, with NWTC shortlisted for five Restaurant Marketeer & Innovator Awards.” Earlier this month, Propel revealed NWTC had hired Adam Bellamy, formerly chairman of Ten Entertainment Group and non-executive director of Loungers, as its new chairman. 

King’s campaign group accuses chancellor of wrecking pubs: A group founded by the king to campaign for pubs has written to chancellor Rachel Reeves expressing “anger” at the taxes she has imposed on the hospitality industry. The Telegraph reported Pub is the Hub, set up in 2001 to save pubs at risk of closure, is one of seven organisations warning that “eye-watering increases” in taxes will devastate the hospitality industry. Pub is the Hub has accused the chancellor of breaking her manifesto promise to replace the current business rates regime with a fairer system, a decision “which has left the trade stunned”. The king set up Pub is the Hub as a non-profit organisation because he was concerned about the loss of rural pubs that were often the only remaining community amenities in their areas. Twenty five years after the need to keep village pubs open was identified, at least one pub a day is predicted to close next year – resulting in “thousands of vital job losses that will be devastating for communities across the country”, the organisation’s letter said. In November’s Budget, Reeves announced she would scrap business rates relief for the hospitality sector over the next three years, a move the letter said caused “real anger among publicans and pub businesses across England who, understandably, feel badly let down”. The signatories claim that while warehouses used by online giants will only experience an average rates increase of 7%, “the average community pub, the place where the social fabric of Britain is weaved, will be hammered with a damaging increase of ten times the magnitude of this”. Andrew Slee, the chief executive of the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates, who also signed the letter, said: “Labour committed to levelling the playing field, but I have been trying to make sense of what happened in the Budget since the full horror of it emerged. It is such a catastrophically bad policy that I can only think it was a mistake. No one could have looked at this and thought: ‘This makes sense, so we’ll go with it.’ It is madness.” The letter was also signed by the British Beer & Pub Association, UKHospitality, Independent Family Brewers of Britain, and the British Institute of Innkeeping.

Evolv Collection plans to expand to more than 100 venues globally by 2030: The Evolv Collection, formerly D&D London, has set out an ambition to expand its 30-strong portfolio to more than 100 venues by 2030, in turn, generating an estimated £100m in underlying profits. Chief executive Martin Williams told The Times that to scale globally, Evolv must consolidate and focus on a collection of “powerhouse” brands. “As we’ve become a bigger group and brands have become more important from a consumer perspective – now there’s very much a culture of having a personal brand,” he said. The portfolio now breaks into clear tiers: “powerhouse” brands including Sartoria, which is opening a fourth restaurant in London’s Liverpool Street in January, plus Bluebird, Stories and Chop House & Tavern; British heritage names such as Coq d’Argent; and a few “pinnacle offerings” such as Angler and Orrery in Marylebone, where Williams hopes to regain the restaurant’s Michelin star almost 20 years after losing it. With this consolidation in play, Evolv now operates 30 venues under 17 brands, which is “the right number” of brands, Williams insisted. He reckons there is an appetite for up to 30 Chop House restaurants in Britain. He believes there are opportunities for Sartoria in other big cities and is eyeing further expansion opportunities for the German Gymnasium in King’s Cross and the resurrection of Miyabi, Conran’s Japanese restaurant concept. Williams’ ambitions stretch far beyond Britain. Bluebird, he said, is the group’s “most sought-after restaurant brand internationally”, especially from partners in the United Arab Emirates, while Evolv has had lots of interest from potential partners in Europe. In New York, where Evolv will open its third restaurant, the Queens Tavern, early next year, Williams reckons Bluebird will “inevitably” find a home in the city before looking at other cities on the East Coast. Williams envisions Bluebird evolving into something far more ambitious than a restaurant brand, something like an “ecosystem inspired by British countryside lifestyle” that he believes could scale to beach clubs, wine tours, hotels and residences. Williams has a lot to do before 2030 arrives, with at least another 12 restaurants planned for 2026. But for now, at least, he can enjoy what he reckoned will be a record Christmas period for the group – validation that his radical brand consolidation strategy is working.