Brand coffee shops are growing, not slowing.

I'm sure I wouldn't profoundly shock you by saying that coffee shops have taken a hit recently, Starbucks alone recorded losses of £41 million in its UK business this past year, heavy opening restrictions leading to a 33% drop in annual revenues.

With this unavoidable and forced cold turkey being imposed on those who just have to have their daily quad ristretto, iced venti low-fat organic, 3 pump vanilla 2 pump cinnamon dolce, extra hot with foam, upside down stirred latte, what might surprise you is that Costa and Starbucks added 50 and 36 new stores respectively in the UK during 2020 and according to the market leading Project Café UK 2021 report, a rise in growth of new locations of approximately 50% is expected in 2021, compared to pre-Covid 2018-2019 figures.

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Jonesing caffeine freaks will always find a way to their next fix, restrictions or no restrictions, it's inevitable. Fortunately for them, their fix is now even easier to come by, Oliver the temp doesn't even have to get his shoes wet. With the rapid uptake of food delivery apps such as Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo, office coffee runs are no more than a couple of clicks away with all major services having recently adopted Costa, Starbucks and Pret to their customers delivery options. With Just Eat reporting an eyewatering 600% increase in orders on last year, this seems like a no-brainer for brand coffee.

So what does this mean for commercial landlords? For our preferred commercial property partner, a company which holds long-term strategic partnerships with both of the UK's java big guns, Costa and Starbuck's, the UK drive-through space is where we will see the most innovation and noteworthiness. "Despite a general economic squeeze, roadside development is still a growth market — whether catering for global fast-food brands, or independent coffee shops pivoting towards a takeaway business model."

Property and Store Development Director for Costa Coffee, James Hamilton believes that while minimal contact service is necessary and relevant now in the pandemic-era, the desire for ultimate convenience that drive-through locations provide is unlikely to dissipate once the pandemic recedes. In fact, what Hamilton calls the “fastest-growing sector” of the drive-thru model is expanding to include motorway sites. Mitchell goes on to say "By combining the pandemic-proof popularity of drive-thru and roadside coffee services with new functions that embrace the very future of transport, coffee shops like Costa are signalling very clearly that coffee shops will rise to new heights of prosperity within and well beyond the trials of the pandemic."

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