Starbucks UK is looking to place 16 of its central London sites on the property market.

According to British Baker’s sister title M&C Report, the global coffee chain has hired commercial property services company CBRE to sell a selection of leasehold units in a bid to cut down rental costs. 

These include stores based on Wigmore Street, Villiers Street, Baker Street and a further two locations on the King’s Roads, which are valued between £32,500 and £206,000.

A Starbucks UK spokesperson, told British Baker: “As is the case in all retail businesses, we regularly review our store portfolio, and as a result we are continuously marketing a number of sites while simultaneously looking for new locations. Over the course of this year we anticipate our overall store count to continue to climb as we ensure that we have the right store portfolio, in the right places.”

The move comes just weeks after the company announced its plans to invest £8m in its stores within the capital, ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The business’ ambitious plans included six high-profile renovations and 70 refurbishments within a time frame of a few months. 

Topics