The new UK boss of controversial coffee chain Starbucks has defended the way it is run saying there is "nothing abnormal" about its operations - which have come under fire over how much tax the company pays.
Chief executive Mark Fox disclosed that the business was two years through a five-year plan to become profitable - which will see it eligible to pay what would be seen as normal levels of tax.
It is one of a number of businesses accused in 2012 of "immoral" behaviour by MPs over the way they structured their corporate affairs.
It was claimed that Starbucks was "exporting" profits to lower tax jurisdictions.
But Mr Fox told the Evening Standard: "There is nothing abnormal about the way Starbucks is run in the UK.
"What is abnormal is that we haven't been making a profit."
However, Starbucks said it was trying to become profitable as fast as it could, and that this could happen as soon as this year or next.
Annual figures published in April showed the US-owned business reported its first ever fall in UK sales last year, during a period when it was hit by a customer boycott over its tax payments.
But Mr Fox told the Standard: "As I look at the business now... I don't see a damaged brand, I see a brand that is starting to regain its mojo."
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