Starbucks UK franchise targets 23 launches in 2019

Starbucks’ UK franchise partner 23.5 Degrees is planning to launch 23 stores next year, as part of its robust expansion strategy. The business will open its 60th Starbucks store on 14 December – its 10th new store within a six-month period. Six further Starbucks stores will launch in the next three months. This follows 20 shop launches in 2018. The business has renewed the call for freehold and leasehold drive-thru opportunities on main arterial routes, close to major retail destinations or on large industrial estates. These would be designed to fit into three standard-sized units – 1,500, 1,800 and 2,200 sq ft – which can either be modular or traditionally built. It will also consider retail park locations, drive-to destinations and high street units in high-footfall locations. Mark Hepburn, managing director of 23.5 Degrees, said: “We’re keen to keep our foot on the gas, and hope to extend our store count considerably in the coming years. “We’re able to move fast on great new sites. Our use of modular design and build enables our landlords to have our stores trading faster.” 23.5 Degrees opened its first Starbucks store in Liphook, Hampshire, in February 2013. It currently has the rights to develop in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Essex and Dorset in the South and East of England, as well as Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland in the North. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette