LONDON, UK – UK leisure group Whitbread PLC has plans to take full control of one of its Chinese joint ventures, sources reported Monday.
Whitbread is likely to announce on Tuesday the acquisition a 49% stake in its Costa Coffee partnership in the south of China, according to a report.
The transaction is expected to cost a sum in the low tens of millions of pounds.
The deal will bolster the company’s exposure to Shanghai, where it already operates nearly 100 Costa stores.
Founded in London in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio e Bruno Costa, Costa Coffee is the second largest coffeehouse chain in the world behind Starbucks and the largest in the UK.
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Whitbread.
