Coca-Cola is considering selling Costa Coffee, Britain’s largest high street coffee chain, more than six years after acquiring it to diversify beyond soft drinks. According to Sky News, the company has hired investment bank Lazard to explore options and has begun preliminary talks with potential buyers, including private equity firms.

When Coca-Cola announced the acquisition in 2018, CEO James Quincey said the deal gave the company “new capabilities and expertise in coffee” and access to “a strong coffee platform.” But in a recent earnings call, he admitted the company was “reflecting on what we’ve learned” and looking for “new avenues to grow in the coffee category.”

Costa’s revenues reached £1.22 billion in 2023, up from the previous year but still below the £1.3 billion recorded in 2018 before Coca-Cola’s takeover. Despite facing inflationary pressures and restructuring costs, the chain has paid over £250 million in dividends to Coca-Cola since the acquisition.

Founded in London in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, the brand has grown into one of the most recognizable names in coffee retail worldwide.

Costa currently operates more than 2,000 outlets in the UK and over 3,000 worldwide, with thousands more vending machines under its Costa Express brand. The company employs an estimated 35,000 people across its global operations.