Esquires aiming to double number of UK sites

Esquires Coffee has revealed that it is looking to increase its branch network from 70 sites at present to 140-150 over the next three years.

A recent growth push has seen the opening of 17 new outlets in areas across the UK, driven by their regional developers.

The brand is now aiming to open at least 10 new UK stores by the end of its financial year in March 2025.

Esquires stated that it is focusing on suburban locations where consumers seek local options for coffee, as a result of the increase in working from home.

Aiden Keegan, chief executive of Esquires in the UK, said: “We’ve got the largest pipeline we’ve had to date in the UK, and we see that the brand has really strong potential to reach more communities. We’re not going high street, we’re not going flagship, you’ll never see us on Oxford Street. We don’t particularly want to be in central business districts or city centres.

“We’re happier in the suburbs where people working from home want to visit a cafe 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.”

Lachlan MacGillivray, of Matthew Algie, a partner of Esquires, added: “The rapid recent growth of Esquires is one of the most exciting stories in UK coffee at the moment, and we love playing a part in that.

“The brand has the potential to become a major player in the UK’s cafe market by offering something different to many existing brands. It very much shares our focus on quality and sustainability, for example in its supply chain, and we can’t wait to see it expand its reach. We can achieve great things together.”

In 2023, Esquires saw its total sales in the UK increase by about a fifth to £17.5m, and those from new stores accounted for 12 per cent of total sales in the UK.