Insomnia, the Irish coffee bar group, hopes to open between 35 – 40 coffee shops in the UK over the next two years, M&C has learnt.
The company is planning a combination of high street locations and concession units within partner stores.
The first UK Insomnia is opening as a concession stall with Debenhams at its new store development in Rugby and will be followed by Debenhams in Westfield Shopping Centre, Bradford.
Chief executive Harry O’Kelly told M&C: “Our plan is to roll out a number of stores both in Ireland and the UK in the next few years.”
The independent group has signed a deal with Spar operator AF Blakemore to operate Insomnia concession stands within five Spar stores in in the south and Midlands.
The pilot unit will open at Market Harborough in September, with all five expected to open by early 2016.
O’Kelly said: “We are excited about the Spar deal because it is a model that has really worked for us in Ireland as a footfall driver and attracts a different type of customer.”
Meanwhile the company is looking to grow its presence with Insomnia Express machines, which it currently operates across Ireland and has 15 in the southwest of England under partnership with Applebee.
In Ireland the 98 stores are a 50/50 split of company owned and franchise operated units, which O’Kelly said is a model that will be made available in the UK in the future as brand awareness grows.
The company is interested in establishing a presence in major cities in partnership with other brands and in secondary cities and towns in high street locations and stand alone units.
In Ireland, the group is currently opening a site a week to reach 120 by the end of 2015.
O’Kelly said: “For 2016 we think the focus will be on the UK before looking to other countries.”
The privately-owned company has three major shareholders including O’Kelly, Bobby Care – chairman, and John Flahavan who founded the company.
