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Analysis: Can Costa Coffee reinvent itself in a radically changed UK coffee shop market?

UK coffee consumers have evolved immeasurably since Costa Coffee’s rapid growth in the 1990s and 2000s, and the chain’s widening losses underline that a clearly defined value proposition is essential in an increasingly crowded market

19 January 2026

4 min read

A Costa Coffee store in St Albans, UK | Photo credit: Costa Coffee

UK coffee consumers have evolved immeasurably since Costa Coffee’s rapid growth in the 1990s and 2000s, and the chain’s widening losses underline that a clearly defined value proposition is essential in an increasingly crowded market

The UK’s largest coffee chain faces a mammoth task in reviving its fortunes amid fierce competition and growing consumer apathy towards scaled mid-market coffee operators.

A Companies House filing for Costa Coffee shows that the Coca-Cola Company-owned coffee chain saw losses more than double from £5.8m ($6.7m) in 2023 to £13.5m ($15.5m) in 2024.

Costa, which operates more than 2,600 UK stores and a further 1,400 coffee shops internationally, has now returned two consecutive annual deficits and has yet to see revenues return to pre-pandemic levels.

The coffee chain saw revenues for the 12 months ended 31 December 2024 remain flat year-on-year at £1.23bn ($1.4bn) – below the £1.34bn ($1.5bn) reported in 2019.