Retail bakery chain Muffin Break is set to open 15 stores in the next 12 months nationwide.

Joshua Nixon, head of estates at Muffin Break’s parent firm Food co, said the brand was keen to talk to more landlords as it planned to increase its UK portfolio to 75 stores by this time next year.

“Interest from franchisees and landlords is currently very strong for a number of reasons,” said Nixon. “However, a key factor seems to be the fact that we are a café bakery, which means our food and hot beverage offering is so much substantial than coffee and a light snack.

The news comes as Muffin Break opened two new branches in Basildon, Essex and Chester, Cheshire.

The new stores, which will both be 1,500 sq ft, will create 26 new jobs for the business and cater for up to 80 people.

The chain also revealed that it has a store refurbishment plan in place for the remainder of 2017, to roll out its “new contemporary and flexible store model”.