Coca-Cola pulls sale of Costa Coffee after reports bids fall short

Coca-Cola has dropped plans to sell Costa Coffee after bids from private equity firms failed to meet its valuation expectations.

According to a Financial Times report today, the US drinks group is understood to have ended discussions with remaining suitors in December, bringing a months-long sale process to a close.

Firms in the latter stages of talks included TDR Capital, which has a controlling stake in the UK arm of fast-growing fried chicken chain Popeyes, and Bain Capital’s, which has backed Gail’s and PizzaExpress.

The news comes as the high street coffee chain’s losses grew to nearly £13.5m in the 12 months to 31 December 2024, representing a 132% increase on 2023’s loss of £5.8m.

In the company’s latest annual report, global CEO Philippe Schaillee stated the loss was driven by “challenging conditions with soft footfall and growth of value-led competitors”.

Coca-Cola first considered selling Costa in August 2025, after only having bought the brand in 2019 from Whitbread for £3.9b.

At the time of the acquisition, which marked the soft drinks firm’s fourth bet on coffee, Coca-Cola said it would enable the business to become a “global coffee platform”.

The group was founded by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971. It was sold to Whitbread for £19m in 1995, when it had fewer than 40 stores.