[ COSTA COFFEE ]
THE CLIENT
Whitbread PLC is a multinational hotel, coffee shop and restaurant company headquartered in Dunstable, UK. Its largest division is Premier Inn, which is the largest hotel brand in the UK with around 650 hotels and over 50,000 rooms. Its Costa Coffee chain has 3,080 shops across 30 countries as of May 2014 and is the world's second-largest international coffee shop chain. Its other brands include the restaurant chains Beefeater Grill, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns.
THE CHALLENGE
With the business growing the company needed an International Tax Manager to join their team based in Luton. Technical ability, personality fit and location were all key and the company were finding it difficult to find someone that ticked all three boxes.
OUR SOLUTION
The location being the first challenge, we visited the team on-site to gauge exactly where they were so we could ensure we were targeting candidates within a suitable commutable distance. Whilst on site we met several members of the team to understand the team dynamic and what they needed in personality. We worked closely with the Head of International tax to understand the technical competences that were essential the business and where they were able to train and develop skills.
THE RESULT
After assessing the market and local area we found a candidate who we felt would be a great match. Whilst the candidate’s background differed from the original requirement on paper after meeting them they were pleased that we had found what they were looking for!
