Costa Coffee, the Whitbread-owned chain, has confirmed to M&C Report that it has opened its first concession site in partnership with the c130-strong Garden Centre Group (GCC) near Northampton.
The company opened its first concession unit within The Garden Centre on Newport Pagnell Road, Wootton, at the end of last month.
A Costa spokesperson told M&C Report: “As the UK’s favourite coffee shop and one of the success stories on the UK high street, we work closely with planning departments across the country to open new stores for the benefit of their local communities, creating new jobs and providing attractive and popular social meeting places.”
Costa currently operates units at Haskins Garden Centres, which operates four sites across West Sussex, Hampshire and Dorset.
It currently has c.1,500 outlets, 35% of the UK’s branded coffee shops and nearly twice as many as its nearest competitor Starbucks.
The brand is expects to stretch its FY2016 target of 3,500 outlets to at least 4,000 by FY2018.
It is looking to add up to a further 100 sites across the UK of its drive-thru concept after the success of its first nine units under the format.
The group recently appointed Savills to acquire units on out-of-town retail and leisure parks and business locations, as well as main arterial routes.
In 2011, Costa announced plans to operate up to 10% of its estate as drive-thrus after opening its first site in Nottingham.
