Costa (English: Costa Coffee) is a coffee chain based in the United Kingdom. In addition to espresso stores, it also offers wholesale roasted coffee beans.The company was acquired in 1995. It was once a subsidiary of Whitbread. a subsidiary of Coca-Cola since 2019.

Subsidiary of Coca-Cola from 2019. In terms of market share in the UK itself, Coffee House overtook Starbucks in 2010 to become the UK's highest market share coffee shop and largest chain.

COSTA Coffee was founded in 1971 by a pair of Italian brothers Sergio Costa and Bruno Costa in London, England. Today, COSTA is the own international brand of the WHITBREAD Group, which also owns Premier Travel Inn (PTI), the UK's largest hotel chain, Pizza Hut (UK) and other assets.

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History

In 1971, a pair of expatriate Italian brothers, Sergio and Bruno Costa, founded Caffeine House in Lambeth, London, to supply the local catering industry with roasted coffee beans to the local catering industry.

In 1978, Costa opened its first coffee shop on Vauxhall Bridge Road in Lambeth, London, and in 1995, Costa was acquired by Whitbread, the UK's largest hotel and coffee shop operator. By 2000, it was selling as many as 3.7 million cups of coffee a week.

In 2010, COSTA acquired Coffee Heaven, adding 29 stores. As of 2010, Coffee Heaven had locations in 27 countries around the world.

On August 31, 2018, The Coca-Cola Company announced that it was acquiring Coffee Heaven for $5.1 billion, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2019. The deal eventually closed in the second half of 2019.

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