Whitbread PLC Acquisition

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RNS Number : 1416C

Whitbread PLC

02 March 2011

2nd March 2011

WHITBREAD BUYS COFFEE NATION FOR GBP59.5m ACCELERATING COSTA'S GROWTH

Costa announced today the acquisition of Coffee Nation and its plan to launch a new brand, Costa Express which will target the self-serve coffee bar sector, providing great tasting Costa coffee on the go.

Costa is the UK's largest and fastest-growing coffee shop brand with over 1850 stores, 1200 in the UK and a further 650 internationally. This acquisition provides Costa with access to new types of location and creates a growth opportunity in the UK's emerging self-serve coffee bar sector, which currently comprises c.2000 units of which Coffee Nation operates 900. Costa will use the purchase of Coffee Nation to develop Costa Express and is targeting 3000 bars across the UK over the next five years, capable of quadrupling its profit contribution. This is in addition to Costa's continuing rapid growth of its store network.

Coffee Nation's self-serve coffee bars are fundamentally different from typical hot drink vending machines because they use fresh milk and freshly ground coffee. Costa Express coffee will be provided by the Costa Roastery in London. Coffee Nation's unique combination of innovative machine technology and advanced monitoring systems gives considerable competitive advantage and they have established a quality customer base including Tesco, Moto and Welcome Break.

Commenting on the acquisition, Andy Harrison, Chief Executive of Whitbread PLC said: "Customers increasingly want great tasting coffee on the go, which makes the self-serve coffee market very attractive. This acquisition provides an exciting launch pad to develop 3000 Costa Express bars across the UK, providing an additional growth lever for the Costa brand and making Costa available to more customers in more locations."

Costa Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Whitbread, the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group, will purchase Coffee Nation from Milestone Capital and Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance and members of the existing management team. Costa is paying GBP59.5m in cash for the entire issued share capital of Coffee Nation including the repayment of Coffee Nation's existing debt.

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For more information please contact:

Investor Relations

Christopher Rogers, Whitbread PLC [phone]

Press Contacts

Anna Glover, Whitbread PLC [phone]

For photographs please visit our media library on www.whitbreadimages.co.uk

Notes to Editors

Whitbread PLC is the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group operating market-leading businesses in budget hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. Its well-loved brands are Premier Inn, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Taybarns and Costa Coffee. Whitbread PLC employs over 40,000 people globally and serves 10 million customers every month in over 2,000 outlets across the UK. In the six months ended 2 September 2010, Whitbread PLC reported a 14.5% increase in Group Revenue to GBP805.4 million and Underlying Profit before tax of GBP151.8 million up 28.4%. Whitbread PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100. It is also a member of the FTSE4Good Index.

Costa: The UKs favourite coffee shop(*)

"Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain in the UK and Ireland" by Allegra Strategies, November 2010

Costa was founded by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971 and is now part of the Whitbread family of brands.

Just 1% of the world's production of coffee is good enough for us to choose from. Only the very best coffee available can go into creating the unique taste and aroma of our Mocha Italia blend.

Costa Coffee was the first UK coffee shop chain to commit to sourcing beans from Rainforest Alliance (RFA) Certified farms. All Costa coffee comes from 100% RFA certified farms.

*Allegra's research of 16,458 consumers for their Project Cafe 10 report in December 2010 reveals Costa Coffee is now the UK's favourite coffee shop.

Coffee Nation

Coffee Nation's estimated Full Year results for the year to 31(st) March 2011 are for a Turnover of GBP25m and EBITDA of GBP4.2m. The estimated EBITDA run rate as at 31(st) March 2011 will be around GBP5.5m - GBP6.0m.

This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements or projections made by Whitbread PLC. Although Whitbread PLC believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any statements about future outlook are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those projected.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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