NEWS
4 ASIAN TRADER 19 SEPTEMBER 2025
It is reported that Coca-Cola is
working with investment bank
Lazard to review options,
including a potential sale, of
British coffee chain Costa.
The company has held initial
talks with a small number of
potential bidders for Costa,
including private equity firms,
Sky News first reported, citing
unidentified sources.
Indicative offers are
expected in early autumn, but a
sale is not definitive, Sky
reported.
Coca Cola acquired Costa
Coffee in 2018 for over $5
billion, to strengthen its
position in the global coffee
market, competing with
Starbucks and Nestle.
In an earnings call last
month, the Coca-Cola CEO
James Quincey hinted at
changes to Costa’s operations,
saying “Our investment in
Costa is not where we wanted it
to be from an investment
hypothesis point of view.”
“We’re in the mode of
reflecting on what we’ve learnt,
thinking about how we might
want to find new avenues to
grow in the coffee category,
while continuing to run the
Costa business successfully.”
Coca-Cola explores
sale of Costa Coffee
Last of the summer
whine
ummer is over and the country is awakening to a new
cycle of seasons, alongside an ongoing set of economic
and social challenges, many of them courtesy of our
elected representatives.
This time of the year marks the beginning of “the season”
for media and grocery, as the long build-up to Christmas
begins. For Asian Trader, our festive and awards season is
jump-started by the Diwali issue next month, when we will be
announcing concrete details concerning our upcoming awards
in November – so, very exciting, with lots to look forward to as
the evenings darken and the air freshens.
What’s been put back to the last minute is the Chancellor’s
upcoming budget, which will now take place on 26 November
– the very latest possible date, and the Government’s only
major fiscal event this year (there was merely a “statement”
back in March). One would guess that this is to delay bad news
or perhaps extend the time available to pray for a miracle. In
truth, the country is not doing too badly. UK public and private
debt has fallen to “just” 225% of GDP, while it is 249% in the
Land of Trump, 287% in Xi Jinping’s communist paradise and
323% in France – a number to warm the cockles of a Brit’s heart
as the nights draw in.
However, the discount rate on 10-year UK gilts reached
4.7% recently, meaning we are looking at over 5% inflation in
store and mortgage rates eventually a couple of percentage
points higher, unless Rachel Reeves can find a way to cut
government spending – which is probably why she is putting
off the day of reckoning for as long as possible. This is despite
tax revenues jumping by over half since 2019, inflation by
contrast by only 24% - and during the same period there was an
increase in GDP by 28%. The mystery, then, is why investors
are reluctant to lend money to the UK by buying bonds – and
the answer to this looming crisis is that they do not think the
government will be able to cut spending. It’s a confidence
thing, and the recent Cabinet resignations and reshuffling is
not really helping.
Also, though, the nature of recent legislation is degrading
the outlook – NI increases, business rates support withdrawn,
punitive restrictions on trade across the board making
commerce more expensive, adding friction and costs – and
perhaps above all, employment legislation that shows zero
awareness of second-order, or unintended effects, of new rules
and regs. As somebody wrote a few weeks ago, a hidden
calamity awaits retailers even after its author, the fragrant
Angela Rayner, has left the stage.
The Employment Rights Bill not only cripples employers
but places them in endless legal jeopardy. It turns out that the
bill could mean retailers will be obliged to listen in to custom
ers’ chat to ensure nothing “illegal” (an ever-widening area of
speech, it seems) is being discussed, no so-called “contentious
beliefs” aired. If an employee overhears any hurty-words, it’s
employers’ liability for damages and therapy. You have been
warned.
Convenience stores have
welcomed a new
consultation from the
Department of Health
and Social Care on the
introduction of a legal
age restriction on energy
drinks.
Under the proposals,
announced today, drinks
that contain more than
150mg of caffeine per
litre would be illegal for sale to
anyone aged under 16. Tea, coffee
and lower caffeine soft drinks are
not affected by the plans.
ACS polling of independent
retailers in 2022 showed that 80
per cent already had a voluntary
policy in place to restrict the sale
of energy drinks to young people.
High caffeine soft drinks are
currently labelled as ‘not
recommended for children’, but
to date there is no legal restric
tion in place on these products.
Association of Convenience
Stores CEO James Lowman said,
“The majority of convenience
stores already have a voluntary
age restriction in place on energy
drinks and will welcome the
clarity of regulation on this issue.
“Our members have a
longstanding track record of
enforcing age restricted sales on
different products, but it is
essential that the
“Government effectively
communicates the details of the
ban to consumers to avoid the
risk of confrontation in stores.”
ACS works with Surrey and
Bucks Trading Standards
through one of the UK’s leading
primary authority partnerships
to provide Assured Advice on age
restricted sales, along with other
areas of regulation, to conveni
ence retailers.
ACS recommends the use of
Challenge25 policies to help
reduce the potential for confron
tation when enforcing the law
on the sale of age restricted
products.
Convenience stores welcome new consultation
Govt announces age
restrictions on Energy drinks