As part of the wider expansion plans for Costa Coffee, real estate advisor Savills agreed deals for 30 new sites in 2020.
The new stores acquired by Savills contributed to a total of 63 new equity store openings by Costa Coffee in the UK last year – supporting its continued growth despite the challenges faced by the sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The deals included 21 new drive-thru sites in Pontprennau, East Lothian, and Luton. In addition, Costa Coffee acquired four stores in retail parks, including Trostre Retail Park, Llanelli and Kingstown Retail Park, Carlisle as well as five stores in high street and travel locations such as Exeter High Street and Winchester and Oxford train stations.
Matthew Brown, retail director at Savills, commented: “2020 was clearly a challenging year for the retail and hospitality sectors, but the continued expansion drive from Costa Coffee shows the strength of the business and its commitment towards building its store portfolio in all locations throughout the UK. As we progress into 2021, we look forward to continuing our work with Costa and supporting the brand with its ongoing acquisition plans.”
James Hamilton, property & store development director, Costa UK & Ireland, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to continue to grow our store portfolio in the UK over the past year, across both equity and drive-thru sites. In 2020, our drive-thru stores played a particularly important role for us in enabling our on-the-go customers to be able to safely and easily purchase their favourite Costa coffee while out on essential journeys. Our robust safety measures allow us to continue to plan and open more sites in 2021, and we look forward to doing this alongside the experienced team at Savills.”
Savills continues to work with Costa Coffee to acquire stores as the retailer expands its portfolio in the UK.