Costa Posts Strong Results as Owner Comments on Impact of Brexit on their Business

Costa posted like for like sales up 2.6% in the 13 weeks to June 2. The strong results came amid headwinds caused by uncertainty in the economy.

The company said customers had pulled back on spending before the EU vote, fueling concerns about the economic consequences of a vote to leave.

Alison Brittain, Whitbread’s chief executive, said: “We are a very flexible company … We have capital we would like to spend this year which we don’t have to and a cost programme which we can turn up or down. We will watch very closely but we would like to continue to grow this business.”

“People are reining back on expenditure and until that uncertainty is resolved they are going to be more cautious. We’ve been working hard at our own cost efficiency programme and many other businesses are doing the same. We will watch closely and will react accordingly. Both consumers and businesses are showing signs of this behaviour.”