By Laura McGuire
Starbucks has crushed rumours it was considering the sale of its UK business with plans for a 100 more stores across the UK.
The US coffee chain said it was also planning to inject £30m into refurbishing its 1,066-strong current store offering and opening a range of new cafes.
Last summer, the frappuccino maker was rumoured to be mulling a sale of 300 UK sites due to a backdrop of tough macroeconomic conditions, at the time the company said it was “not in a formal sale process”.
Duncan Moir, president of Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa, said that while the brand is cautious about the challenging economic environment, it was still keen in investing to “grow the region this year”.
“We plan to open over 100 new stores in the UK and 300 new stores in EMEA, to continue this growth momentum,” Moir said reaffirming the brand’s position in the UK market.
It comes as Starbucks also revealed its earnings for the financial year ending 2 October 2022, with the group finally surpassing pre-pandemic sales earning £449.3m.
Despite this lift in revenues, a surge in inflation and living costs, saw profit before tax decrease to £10.4m down from £13.3m in 2021.
Moir continued: “We have had a very strong year of revenue growth in the UK and EMEA and I’m pleased to report that we have exceeded our pre-pandemic revenue levels.
“This is all thanks to the hard work of our fantastic team of partners who are dedicated to delivering a positive experience for every customer.”
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