Costa Coffee: confidence

On Tuesday, Whitebread will announce its third quarter sales and revenue performance and those with shares in the leisure sector will be watching them with interest. Their ownership of Premier Inns, Costa Coffee and a number of other restaurant brands means consumer confidence is key to their performance.

There was good news for its Irish franchise partner for Costa Coffee last week when it received planning permission to convert the former Blarney Woollen Mills store at the junction of Dawson Street and Nassau Street into a café. The application had been supported by owner Patrick Conlon, one of the building’s owners, on the grounds that both retailers that had previously occupied the building “were unsuccessful”.