Starbucks, the global coffee shop chain, has announced a deal to open 29 stores in the next 16 months at Welcome Break motorway service stations.
The franchise deal will mean that Welcome Break’s own Coffee Primo sites will be rebranded as Starbucks.
The first two new coffee shops will be in place at Oxford on the M40 and Hopwood Park on the M42 before Easter.
Rod McKie, Welcome Break’s chief executive, said he anticipated the conversion would lead to a 30% uplift in coffee sales.
The move comes just one week after it was revealed that the Starbucks brand Seattle’s Best Coffee was to replace Burger King’s own-branded brew at its US restaurants.
Welcome Break, which runs similar franchise deals with Waitrose, Burger King and KFC, is expected to invest within the region of £5m and £10m converting the Coffee Primo sites. It currently operates out of 24 locations and has an annual footfall of 80 million people.
Rod McKie, Welcome Break’s chief executive, said: “We are pleased to be adding an additional leading world brand to offer the travelling public at our motorway service areas.
“This will complement the expansion of the Waitrose estate within Welcome Break and is part of a significant investment by the company.
“The addition of Starbucks will enable us to further satisfy the requirements of our 80 million visitors annually.
“We are looking forward to opening the 29 Starbucks and are confident that there is potential to open many more.”
Darcy Willson-Rymer, Starbucks UK managing director, said: “Being alongside some of the best quality brands in the UK makes this deal a perfect fit for us and is part of our drive to offer the best quality coffee wherever our customers are.
“Customers’ expectations are rising and they want their coffee shops to be as good on the go as they are at home. We’ll meet those expectations by setting a new standard for coffee on the UK’s motorways.”
