Costa franchise gets first opening

Coffee shop chain Costa Coffee is poised to begin rolling out its new franchise operation, following the opening of its first individually franchised store in London.

The Finchley Road Costa Coffee opened at the end of August, and two more franchised sites are due to open next year.

All three are being run by local businessman Jaafar Touili, who is aiming to open six sites in London over the next few years.

A shop will open on the Edgeware Road in January and another in March in St John's Wood.

Costa made the decision to go into the franchise market in April, although it already operates in close partnership with various corporate franchises such as Roadchef.

At the time it said it was aiming to recruit around 40 to 45 franchisees, a process it said today was still underway.

Each franchisee will be expected to operate clusters of stores, with franchises being sold for between £120,000 to £130,000.

Mathew Holgate, head of UK business development at Costa Coffee, said: "With franchising there's a fantastic tried and tested business model out there waiting for anyone from any walk of life, with the enthusiasm and drive to make it work."

by Nic Paton

Buy this week's Caterer magazine for more industry news and analysis