If you’ve been considering investing in a coffee-shop business under an established brand, you may have come across Coffee #1, a well-known café chain in the UK. It’s tempting to assume that a popular coffee brand like this offers franchise opportunities to entrepreneurs. However, when it comes to Coffee #1’s business model, the situation is different: Coffee #1 does not currently offer franchise opportunities in the UK, and all of its coffee shops are company-owned.
About Coffee #1
Coffee #1 has built a strong presence in the UK coffee market with high-street cafés characterised by curated interiors, specialty coffees and relaxed yet stylish environments. The brand emphasises delivering a consistent customer experience across its locations, with an emphasis on the quality of coffee, service and the café ambience. Rather than working with independent operators or franchisees, Coffee #1’s model is to maintain direct ownership and direct management of every site. This allows the business to maintain tight control over brand standards, menu consistency, staffing and location strategy.
Why Coffee #1 Doesn’t Franchise
There are several reasons why Coffee #1 has chosen to operate with only company-owned stores and not adopt a franchise model. One key factor is brand control: by owning every store, the company ensures that everything from store design and product offering to staff training and customer service aligns exactly with its overall vision. Secondly, the investment and operational model may be structured around scale, prime locations and uniform execution, which the company prefers to handle internally rather than hand off to franchise partners. Thirdly, by avoiding franchise complexity—such as independent operators, varying local standards and differing levels of investment—the brand can potentially reduce risk and preserve the coherence of its offering across all outlets.
What This Means for Potential Investors
For someone interested in owning a branded café business with Coffee #1, the fact that it does not offer franchises means that you cannot buy a Coffee #1 franchise or operate a Coffee #1 store as an independent business under the Coffee #1 name. The only way to participate in the brand would be either through employment with the company or possibly in a role that is part of their company-owned business operations— but not as a franchisee. Consequently, if your objective is to own your own café business under a known brand and manage it independently, you would need to look at other brands in the UK coffee sector that do offer franchising, or else consider launching your own independent café concept.
Conclusion
In summary, while Coffee #1 is a recognised and respected coffee shop brand in the UK, it does not offer franchise opportunities and all of its cafés are company-owned. For entrepreneurs looking to invest in a coffee-shop franchise, Coffee #1 is not an option under the typical franchise arrangement. Instead, you would need to explore other brands that welcome franchise partners or develop an independent café brand of your own. If you are drawn to the coffee-shop market and want the benefits of owning your own business under a brand name, your next step would be to identify which chains in the UK market provide franchise licences and compare their models, support and entry requirements.