Costa Coffee was acquired by Coca-Cola in 2019. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola has called in bankers for exploratory talks regarding a sale of coffee chain Costa.

The Coca-Cola company, which acquired Costa over six years ago, has held talks with a number of potential bidders including private equity firms, according to Sky News.

Investment bank Lazard is working with the firm to explore demand from prospective buyers.

A deal would mark the sale of Britain’s biggest high street coffee chain. Coca-Cola purchased Costa on January 3 2019 after sealing an agreement with FTSE 100 giant Whitbread worth £3.9bn.

Preliminary offers are set to be tabled in the early Autumn though the soft drinks maker could still decide to ditch a sale.

But analysts told Sky

See Full Page