LONDON  – The 3.9 billion-pound ($5.1 billion) sale of the Costa coffee chain to Coca-Cola (KO.N) began brewing when Whitbread’s boss Alison Brittain crossed paths with the chief executive of the soft drinks giant at a conference in May. Brittain, who has led Costa-owner Whitbread (WTB.L) since December 2015, didn’t know James Quincey before the […]