Beijing will soon be home to a chain of Costa coffee stores.

Whitbread plc, owner of the Costa brand, has announced that it will open its first Costa coffee store chain in Beijing – ahead of the country hosting the Olympic Games in August 2008.

The company aims to open 300 Costa coffee shops in Beijing and North East China in the next five years in a joint venture with the Beijing Hualian Group, a leading retail group in China.

Alan Parker, Chief Executive, Whitbread PLC, said: “Beijing is a very exciting market making this an important deal for Costa which further strengthens our position in one of the largest and fastest growing economies across the globe. Costa has had a favourable reception in Shanghai with 17 stores open this year. 

“We are very pleased to be working with such a prestigious joint venture partner. This significant deal provides a major boost to our China expansion plans and further strengthens Costa’s strategy to become a global coffee brand.”

Whitbread is one of the UK’s leading hospitality companies, with brands such as Premier Inn, Beefeater, and Costa. One of the UK’s largest chains, Costa operates 640 stores with a further 260 stores in 20 overseas markets.