London: Whitbread will spin off Costa Coffee after activist investors pushed for Britain’s biggest coffee chain to be listed as a separate business.
It said Costa Coffee, second in the global coffee shop market after Starbucks Corp, had attractive long-term international opportunities. The move leaves Whitbread with its Premier Inn hotels operation and the split is expected to be completed within 24 months. Investors, lead by activists Paul Singer’s Elliott and US-based Sachem Head, have been pressuring the British company to split itself up to help unlock value. “Given the progress Whitbread is making, we are confident that both Premier Inn and Costa will soon be businesses of sufficient strength, scale and capability to enable them to thrive as independent companies,” Chief Executive Alison Brittain said.
She said the split would be pursued as fast as practical to optimise value for Whitbread’s shareholders.
