In 1985, Sergio bought out Bruno's share of the company. Bruno went on to found a tableware company.[6] By 1995, the chain had 41 stores in UK.[7] In 1995, the business was acquired by Whitbread for £19M, UK's largest hotel and coffee shop operator, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary. In 2009, Costa opened its 1,000th store - in Cardiff. In December 2009, Costa Coffee agreed to acquire Coffee Heaven for £36 million, adding 79 stores in central and eastern Europe.[8] On 31st August 2018, Coca Cola paid US$4.9 billion for the Costa chain worldwide. After approval from regulatory authorities in the European Union and China, the deal went ahead, extending Coke's presence in the coffee and restaurant market. 