Hotel operator from UK buys a chain of coffee houses

British hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread announced on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 its intention to acquire a chain coffee houses coffeeheaven. The deal is amounted to about $ 58 million. To date, there were about 90 cafes in Central and Eastern Europe under the management of the chain coffeeheaven. The purchase coffeeheaven promises to Whitbread a good opportunity for further expansion of its own brand of coffee houses- Costa Coffee. Whitbread intends to start a promotion of own brand of cafes in Eastern Europe in the nearest future.

Among the coffee bars, which Whitbread will acquire, 62 are located in Poland, 14 in the Czech Republic and 14 - in Bulgaria, Latvia and Hungary. Costa Coffee brand, which Whitbread plans to promote, currently has about 1000 cafes in the UK and another 400 abroad.

Regarding the hotel part of Whitbread, the company is represented by one of the most famous network of budget hotels in Great Britain - Premier Inn chain. Premier Inn hotels are located primarily in the United Kingdom. The total number of hotels, which are the members of the chain, is 590. As to foreign markets, Premier Inn hotels are also opened in Ireland. Since 2008 the brand is presented on the hotel market of Dubai.

Whitbread – is one of the key players of the British hotel and restaurant industry. Total profit of the company in the first half of 2009 was amounted to 127 million pounds. In addition to the hotel chain Premier Inn, Whitbread is also represented by several chains of cafes and restaurants: Table Table, Taybarns, Beefeater, a chain of pubs - Brewers Fayre. Also in the company's portfolio there is a chain of conference halls - Touchbase, which develops in parallel with the construction of new Premier Inn hotels. On the trading, held on Monday, December 14, 2009, on the London Stock Exchange Whitbread shares rose in price by 4%.