Pret A Manger dumps US franchise agreement after just two years Retail Pret A Manger has dumped the franchise agreement which it had launched to expand in the US after just two years, its latest accounts revealed. The coffee chain formed a joint venture, known as Empire JointStar, with its franchise operator Dallas Holdings in October 2023, in a bid to accelerate its expansion in the US. [...]
Tesco deal helps Esquires Coffee owner to surge in sales as it eyes 300 stores Hospitality A fresh deal with Tesco helped the owner of the Esquires Coffee chain to a jump in turnover. Cooks Coffee Company, which is listed on Aquis, posted UK and Ireland store sales of £43.1m for the year to end March, a surge of 22.8 per cent. Pre-tax earnings rose 6.8 per cent to £529,000, while [...]
Black Sheep Coffee founder: ‘The Square Mile is a magical place’ Retail Black Sheep Coffee was founded in the Square Mile but has now expanded across the world. Its co-founder tells Felix Armstrong about his roots in the City Gabriel Shohet is a company man. The Black Sheep Coffee founder enters the meeting room at the coffee chain’s Southwark offices clad in a branded hoodie, with a [...]
AI could be picking your coffee as startup takes £2m April 20, 2026 An AI-powered coffee vending machine which tells its users when and what it might like to drink is set to spring up in forecourts, gyms and campuses across the country. Unity Coffee, which uses AI to offer tailored discounts based on the time and user behaviour, has completed a £2m fundraising and aims to “disrupt” [...]
Matcha mayhem: Blank Street eyes $100m expansion April 1, 2026 Blank Street coffee is reportedly in early talks to raise at least $100m in new funding as it eyes further expansion. The cafe chain, which has more than 50 shops in the UK, is known for its matcha drinks and has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2020. The business operates dozens of locations [...]
Green is good: How has Blank Street taken over London? October 3, 2025 Given the ubiquity of Blank Street’s pastel green branding across the capital, it is almost surprising to think the New York-based company only opened its first London shop in the summer of 2022. In fact, it only opened its very first shop in Williamsburg in 2021, after spending nearly a year housed in a Brooklyn [...]
Lavazza: Profit doubles amid ‘unprecedented’ price rises September 22, 2025 Profit at coffee brand Lavazza doubled in the UK during its latest financial year as it battled “intense pressure” on its supply chain and “unprecedented” price rises. The Uxbridge-headquartered division has posted a pre-tax profit of £3.2m for 2024, up from the £1.5m it achieved in 2023. New accounts filed with Companies House also show [...]
Pret A Manger ‘being punished for focusing on UK’ September 15, 2025 Pret A Manger is being punished for focusing on the UK and this is a “disaster for domestic growth”, according to the chief executive of drinking chocolate chain Knoops. Writing on LinkedIn, William Gordon-Harris said “the sad fact is for UK domestic growth is that so many UK founded businesses focus their growth after launch [...]
Nespresso cuts over 200 UK jobs amid store closures September 2, 2025 The UK arm of coffee giant Nespresso shed more than 200 jobs as it shut locations across the country in 2024, it has been confirmed. The business reduced its headcount from 716 to 499 during its latest financial year as it closed 11 of its sites. In new accounts filed with Companies House for 2024, [...]
Starbucks: UK’s largest franchise more than doubles profit ahead of takeover April 28, 2025 Sales jumped towards £100m and profit more than doubled at the UK’s largest Starbucks franchise in the year before the US coffee chain took it over, it has been revealed. 23.5 Degrees has reported a turnover of £93m for the 12 months to 31 August, 2024, up from the £83.5m it achieved in the prior [...]