COCA-COLA has gone flat on plans to sell Costa Coffee after bids failed to meet its £2billion price tag.
The US drinks giant reportedly halted talks with remaining bidders last month, ending a months-long auction.
Coca-Cola paid £3.9billion for Costa in 2018, betting Britain’s biggest coffee chain would fuel growth beyond fizzy drinks.
Instead, the business has been squeezed by soaring costs — notably coffee beans — as well as fierce competition on the high street.
A £2billion sale would have crystallised a multi-billion-pound loss.
Late-stage suitors understood to have been involved in talks included TDR Capital, owner of ASDA, and Bain Capital’s special situations arm, which backs Gail’s And Pizza Express.
Apollo, KKR and Centurium Capital were involved earlier but did not proceed in the auction, run by investment bank Lazard.
Coca-Cola’s outgoing boss James Quincey has admitted Costa has “not quite delivered” and is “not where we wanted it to be from an investment hypothesis point of view”.
Costa operates about 2,700 outlets across the UK and Ireland but faces pressure from upmarket rivals such as Gail’s and independents, as well as cheaper options from Greggs and McDonald’s.
The chain’s 2024 accounts show revenues of £1.2billion — up just one per cent year on year — while operating losses widened to £13.5million amid “challenging conditions with soft footfall and growth of value-led competitors”.
Coca-Cola has not ruled out a sale in future.
’FLIX TO CASH
NETFLIX is poised for an all-cash offer for its £62billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery’s studios and streaming arms.
It aims to speed up the deal and fend off a hostile rival bid from Paramount Skydance.
Critics say it could control close to half of the streaming market, landing prized assets including Warner Bros — home to Batman, Harry Potter and Superman — and HBO, maker of Game of Thrones and Succession.
P&O BOSS PAY
PETER Hebblethwaite, the P&O Ferries boss who sacked hundreds of staff in 2022, earned £622,000 in his last full year in charge, new accounts show.
Companies House filings for P&O Ferries Division Holdings show his 2024 payment was down from £683,000 the year before.
His tenure was defined by sacking 800 crew, with some told via video, before replacing them with cheaper agency staff.
ROYAL SHOE FAVE WOES
SHOE chain Russell & Bromley is moving towards a sale following financial struggles since the pandemic.
The family-run business, which counts Queen Camilla and Kate, Princess of Wales, among its fans, has failed to make a profit since 2019, with turnover falling seven per cent to £62.9million in 2023 and losses growing to £1.4million.
Retailer Next has been linked with either a full takeover of the 150-year-old brand, which has 37 stores and employs about 450, or investment with clearance specialist Retail Realisation.
