Cafes and Coffee Shops

The Cafes and Coffee Shops section on Catering Today explores the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the UK’s vibrant café and coffee sector. Covering independent operators, branded chains, and suppliers, it reports on store openings, menu innovation, sustainability initiatives, and shifts in consumer behaviour. With insights into operations, staffing, and technology, Catering Today provides hospitality professionals with up-to-date intelligence on the business strategies and market forces driving success in coffee-led hospitality.

Aug- 2025 -

26 August

Coca-Cola mulls Costa Coffee sale

Coca-Cola is working with bankers to hold exploratory talks over the sale of Costa Coffee more than six years after acquiring it, according to reports from Sky News. Investment bank Lazard is understood to have been engaged by Coca-Cola and initial talks have already been held with a small number…
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15 August

Finsbury Food acquires majority stake in Lola’s Cupcakes

Finsbury Food Group has confirmed it has acquired a 70% majority stake in Lola’s Cupcakes, marking its entry into the direct-to-consumer market. According to Sky News, the deal could value the cupcake chain at more than £25m. The cupcake business trades from a network of 45 kiosks and collection lockers…
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13 August

Wenzel’s signs first-ever franchise partnership

Wenzel’s has signed its first-ever franchise partnership following a new deal with Southern Co-op, in a move that will see it expand its customer base into new regions across the country. It comes as the independent family-run bakery, which is led by founder Peter Wenzel and his daughter Sarah as…
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8 August

Harris and Hoole summer sales rise 14.7%

Speciality coffee chain Harris and Hoole has reported a 14.7% increase in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks from May to July. Gross sales jumped by 11% to £2.1m during the period, up from £1.9 million in the previous quarter. The company attributed the growth to strong demand for its…
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1 August

Chocoberry revenues up 53% in H1 as it targets 50 stores by 2026

Leicester-based dessert café chain, Chocoberry, has reported a 53% increase in revenues in the first half of 2025 as the business accelerates plans to open 50 UK sites by the end of 2026. Chocoberry has attributed its performance to growing demand for its premium dessert offering. Founded in 2018, the…
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Jul- 2025 -

30 July

Starbucks turnaround plan ‘ahead of schedule’ despite Q3 sales dip

Starbucks has said a turnaround plan for the group is “ahead of schedule”, despite seeing global comparable store sales fall by 2% in its third quarter. This decline was driven by a 2% decline in comparable transactions, partially offset by a 1% increase in average ticket. In the quarter ended…
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30 July

Caffè Nero sees global sales rise 12% in Q4

Caffè Nero has reported a 12% rise in global sales in the final quarter of its financial year, with growth in the UK boosted by demand for iced drinks. The coffee chain said like-for-like sales across the group increased 6% in the three months to 31 May. In the UK,…
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24 July

Costa franchise operator acquires 21 stores

Costa Coffee franchise operator Sim Trava Group has acquired 21 Costa-branded sites from QFM Group, a UK-based fast-food franchise operator, for an undisclosed sum. Sim Trava stated that the acquisition marked “a significant step forward” for the company, which is expanding its presence with the brand amid “challenging trading conditions”.…
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9 July

Chaiiwala to open 105th cafe in Milton Keynes

Chaiiwala has announced the opening of its 105th café in the UK, located at Unit 4F in thecentre:MK in Milton Keynes. This comes as the company embarks on an expansion strategy to scale up to 500 global locations over the next 10 years. This includes significantly expanding its footprint in…
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8 July

Starbucks UK expands youth leadership scheme

Starbucks UK has launched the second round of its Accelerated Leadership Programme, aiming to fast-track more than 20 young people from entry level to store manager within 13 months. The scheme, which opened for applications yesterday (7 July) during Youth Employment Week, offers a management-level qualification that typically takes three…
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