Coffee shop chain Esquires Coffee is planning to double its store estate by targeting home and hybrid workers.
The chain currently has 70 franchise branches across the UK, and wants to grow that number to 140-150 by the end of 2027.
Esquires Coffee wants to stand out from the “UK’s busy café market” by expanding in suburban and regional outlets rather than city locations.
The choice of suburban locations also brings a significant saving for the chain, with entry costs generally lower than central business districts.
Esquires already has a presence in the south east of England, the east Midlands and Wales.
It has opened 17 new outlets over the past six months, and plans to open 10 more by the end of the financial year in March 2025.
“You’ll never see us on Oxford Street. We’re not going high street, we’re not going flagship, and we don’t particularly want to be in central business districts or city centres”, said Esquires chief executive Aiden Keegan.
“We’re happier in the suburbs where people working from home want to visit a café to work – we see a lot of people in our stores with earbuds on their laptops – or for a break, or to catch up with friends. This means we get bigger spend and longer dwell time than in more central locations.”
The chain, owned by New Zealand-based Cooks Coffee Group, saw its total sales increase by a fifth to £17.5m for the financial year ending March 2023.
According to the ONS, more than a quarter of working adults in Great Britain (28%) were hybrid working in the autumn of 2024.
No comments yet