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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/whitbread-snaps-up-coffee-nation.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Whitbread is moving into the self-service coffee market by acquiring Coffee Nation" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/min-whitbread-snaps-up-coffee-nation.jpg" alt="Whitbread is moving into the self-service coffee market by acquiring Coffee Nation"/></a></p>
<p>Costa owner Whitbread has launched its push into the self-serve coffee market with the acquisition of Coffee Nation for £59.5 million.</p>
<p>The company will use the purchase to develop a new brand called Costa Express and said it hopes for 3,000 such bars in the UK over the next five years.</p>
<p>Coffee Nation has 900 self-serve sites, including at Tesco stores and Moto and Welcome Break services stations. They differ from typical hot drink vending machines because they use fresh milk and freshly ground coffee.</p>
<p>Whitbread chief executive Andy Harrison said: &#8220;Customers increasingly want great tasting coffee on the go, which makes the self-serve coffee market very attractive.&#8221;</p>
<p>The leisure group&#8217;s Costa arm is one of the UK&#8217;s largest coffee shop brands with more than 1,200 outlets, as well as a further 650 sites overseas.</p>
<p>It is on track to open 300 stores in the current financial year and the figures revealed it increased total sales by 28.5% in the 50 weeks to February 17.</p>
<p>Like-for-like sales were up by 7.9% but this rate slowed to 3% in the final 11 weeks of the period as Costa faced tougher comparatives with a year earlier and more challenging trading conditions.</p>
<p>Across the group, which also operates Premier Inn hotels and Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants, like-for-like sales increased 3.9% in the 11 weeks, compared with 6.7% for the wider 50-week period.</p>
<p>Mr Harrison added: &#8220;Whilst it is premature to judge the trajectory of the UK consumer economy in 2011 we shall continue to invest in growing our strong brands.&#8221;</p>
<p>The company, which employs 40,000 people and serves 10 million customers every month, is buying Coffee Nation from Milestone Capital, Investec and members of the existing management team.</p>
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