It was acquired by Whitbread in 1995, then sold to The Coca-Cola Company in January 2019 in a deal worth $4.9 billion and has grown to 3,401 stores across 31 countries and 18,412 employees.

In December 2009, Costa Coffee agreed to acquire the Polish chain Coffeeheaven for £36 million, adding 79 stores in central and eastern Europe.

In 2018, Whitbread faced pressure from two of its largest shareholders, activist group Elliott Advisers and hedge fund Sachem Head, to sell or demerge Costa Coffee, the theory being that the individual businesses would be worth much more than the one company alone.

[18] Costa moved its roastery from Lambeth to Basildon, Essex, in May 2017 with an investment of £38 million, increasing their annual coffee-roasting capacity from 11,000 to 45,000 tonnes (12,000 to 50,000 short tons).

[22] On 19 August 2019, Costa Coffee attracted media attention due to claims of unfair deductions from the pay of its employees.

The report included managers' alleged refusal to pay for sickness, annual leave, or working outside contracted hours, and retaining tips.

It cited an anonymous former employee at a store under Goldex Essex Investments Ltd who claimed that almost £1,000 of their holiday pay was deducted from their salary, despite being contracted to work 48 hours a week.

The report said that baristas and employees at managerial level had complained about the numerous deductions outlined in Costa Coffee franchisees' contracts.

[30] In July 2023, a Costa Express van had art depicting a trans man with top surgery scars, as part of a mural designed for Pride Month.

[34] In February 2022, an investigation by BBC's Panorama found dairy cows supplying milk to Costa were being abused on a farm in Wales.

It also ruled that training provided to Costa staff on food allergies was not sufficient at the time, only consisting of a "tick-box exercise".