Business news live: The firms bidding for Costa Coffee and Nvidia share price falls

Reports suggest Costa Coffee could be on the market for around £2bn.

That’s half of what it was bought for six years ago but coffee sales in the UK are below the level now from when Coca-Cola bought it.

There are more than 2,000 stores in the UK and Costa operates across 50 different countries, though Coca-Cola have not released figures on total stores or employees worldwide.

Costa has about 38% of the UK coffee market share according to research, but it is under pressure from cheaper alternatives like Gregg’s, and more upmarket offerings such as local specialist coffee boutiques or independent cafes.

Add in increased employer costs this year in the UK and it’s clearly a tough time for many businesses right now – though it’s still one which recorded revenues of £1.2bn in 2023.

Costa Coffee is a UK high street staple. You see it pretty much everywhere: main shops, inside shopping centres, even within petrol stations in a tiny kiosk or machine.

But it’s not a standalone company; Costa was bought by Coca-Cola in 2019 for nearly £4bn.

Since then the drinks firm has struggled to integrate it properly within its wider ecosystem and doesn’t feel the brand is generating the return it wanted. So, it’s up for sale – potentially at least, as one of several possible outcomes of a review.

At present there are three main parties who seem to be at least exploring a deal.

Apollo Global Management is the eventual parent of restaurants like Wagamama, and Bar Burrito.

KKR is a US-based private equity firm who have also held early talks, according to reports.

And Sky News initially reported a “small number” of firms who may have had exploratory talks.

There’s still a chance a sale doesn’t go through, but bids are expected in October.

The plans aim to make the Treasury £2bn, as it attempts to avoid breaking the chancellor’s “red lines” outlined before the general election, which included not increasing VAT, income tax or national insurance.

Czech tycoon Karel Komarek’s investment vehicle has sold a stake in Allwyn in a deal valuing the National Lottery operator at 11.2 billion euros (£9.6 billion).

Allwyn said central European investment fund J&T Arch has snapped up a 4.27% stake in the business from Mr Komarek’s KKCG business, which remains the majority owner.

In 2019, KKCG took 100% control of European lottery group Sazka Group before rebranding it as Allwyn.

It was awarded the licence to run the National Lottery in 2022.

Later that year, Allwyn then agreed a takeover deal for Camelot, which had previously run the UK’s National Lottery licence.

Last night was a key event in the stock markets as Nvidia reported their earnings for the last quarter.

Without going into the finances in too much detail, $46.7bn in earnings was more than expected and earnings per share was higher than analysts’ anticipated levels too – but the share price fell after data centre revenue fell $0.2bn short of predictions.

It fell around 3 per cent initially but has since bounced back in pre-market trading, with the Nasdaq firm set to open 1.9 per cent lower according to the latest futures markets.

Nvidia is the biggest company in the world, valued at over $4tn, and the share price hit a new all time high at just over $183 earlier this month.

It’ll be around $177-178 later this afternoon when markets open, if it stays down in the 2-3 per cent range.

It’s value is so carefully watched as it makes up a significant chunk of many funds, including a basic tracker of US companies or more specifically tech-focused ones.

Royal Mail has announced it will be the first international postal operator to launch new services so people can continue sending goods to the United States ahead of new customs requirements coming into effect on Friday.

From today, Royal Mail customers can use the company’s new postal delivery duties paid (PDDP) services.

The move follows a US executive order last month which said that goods valued at 800 dollars or less will no longer be exempt from import duties and taxes from August 29.

The FTSE 100 fell yesterday as an afternoon slump left it around 0.1 per cent down for the day – and it’s up by less than that at the start of trading, about 0.06 per cent in the green.

There are no massive names reporting today but a few such as the Macfarlane Group and PPHE Hotel Group – which owns brands like Park Plaza, Radisson Collection and others – are some of the smaller or FTSE 250 firms set for reporting.

Good morning all, we’ll get rolling today with FTSE 100 news and looking at Nvidia’s results from last night, then we’ve got a roundup of the bidding battle for Costa Coffee – a UK high street staple.