Coca-Cola is looking to sell Costa Coffee eight years after paying £3.9bn for the chain

From the Newshound archive · first published 9 October 2026 · last updated 10 October 2026.

Greggs has overtaken Costa to become Britain's biggest coffee chain by store count, and now Coca-Cola is reportedly reviving plans to offload the brand to private equity after an earlier sale attempt collapsed this year when offers fell short of its expectations. The US drinks giant bought Costa from Whitbread in 2018 for around £3.9bn but is now expected to accept far less. Retail experts warn a private equity takeover could spark further High Street closures.

Coca-Cola abandoned a previous sale earlier this year after private equity bidders refused to meet its asking price of around £2bn.

Costa operates 2,700 UK and Ireland cafes and recently returned to operating profit after a menu shake-up, which may help attract fresh buyers.