Costa coffee helps Whitbread boost sales 13.9%
Whitbread, the hotels and restaurants group, has said it made a strong start to its financial year, driven by growth of its Premier Inn and Costa brands.
In the 13 weeks to 31 May, Whitbread's like-for-like sales - which exclude new openings - rose 4.5% on the same period last year. Total sales rose 13.9%.
Costa's like-for-like increase in sales was 8.4%, with total sales up 25.3%.
Whitbread has already unveiled expansion plans that it says will create 3,500 jobs.
Like-for-like sales at Premier Inn for the 13 weeks rose 4.3%, with total sales up 12.4%.
"Whitbread has begun the new financial year well," said chief executive Andy Harrison.
But he warned that "for the second quarter, we face tougher comparatives against a strong result last year, together with the uncertain impact of this summer's major sporting events."
Whitbread has already announced plans to open 4,200 Premier Inn rooms, eight joint site restaurants and 350 new Costa stores this financial year, creating an additional 3,500 UK jobs.