Costa Coffee has seen its sales increase by 7.1% in the last three months, against the backdrop of protests and boycotts against its closest rival espresso chain Starbucks because of its controversial tax arrangements. "We have been the UK's favourite coffee shop for some time; we remain the taxman's favourite coffee shop too," said Andy Harrison, chief executive of parent company Whitbread. He said it was impossible to attribute Costa's increasingly strong performance to the controversy surrounding Starbucks's tax affairs, but noted that Costa had enjoyed a record week last week, with UK stores – excluding franchised shops – taking £10m and attracting 3.8 million customers.