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Costa Coffee, the UK's largest and fastest-growing coffee shop brand, announces today the opening of its first store in Beijing, days ahead of start of the 2008 Olympic games.

The Costa store, located in the Shang Di Shopping Mall will be the first opened under a joint venture between Whitbread PLC and the Beijing Hualian Group. The joint venture intends to open 300 Costa coffee shops in Beijing and surrounding provinces in North East China, over the next few years.

Shang Di Mall is based in the Haidian District of Beijing. It is the first major shopping mall opening in this area and is in the middle of Beijing's IT business district. Costa is located in the centre of the 60,000 sq Mall which serves upwards of 20,000 people a day from both residential and business areas.

The Beijing Hualian Group is a leading retailer in China, with annual revenues in excess of £1.3 billion. The Group operates 70 hypermarkets and department stores along with 10 shopping centres.

The Costa Coffee has been trading in Shanghai for 18 months, where it has opened 25 stores with the Yueda Group, this will be its second joint venture in China.

Costa Managing Director John Derkach, commented: "This is another major milestone for Costa. Our strategy has always been to develop several different markets in China, to fully capitalise on the vast opportunity presented by China's continued economic growth and aspiring young consumers. Today's opening in China's capital city further enhances Costa's status as a major international brand."