Costa Coffee has terminated its franchise agreement with Kernow Koffi, the operator of several shops in Cornwall, and the affected branches closed suddenly on 28 October. Costa cites a breach of the agreement but has not said what it was, leaving staff and customers in at least five Cornish towns without a stated reopening date.
Costa runs part of its UK estate through franchise partners, the term its spokesperson used when confirming the closures. Kernow Koffi, which Companies House lists as based in Paignton, Devon, according to Cornwall Live, ran a group of Costa shops on Cornish high streets. Other Costa shops in the county are operated separately and remain open, including those in Truro, St Austell, Falmouth and Saltash, the Cornish Times reported. The closures came to light on 28 October, when handwritten notices appeared on shop doors and the branches were marked as temporarily closed on Costa’s website.
What Costa has confirmed
A Costa spokesperson confirmed the closures and said the company had “taken the difficult decision to terminate our franchise agreement” with the franchise partner. Costa has not specified the nature of the breach.
The company added that employment matters are the responsibility of the franchise partner and not for Costa to comment on, and it pointed customers to its store locator. Cornwall Live said on 28 October that it was trying to reach Kernow Koffi, and no statement from the operator appeared in the reports reviewed.
Which shops are affected
Cornwall Live named the Costa shops at Belle Vue in Bude, Molesworth Street in Wadebridge, Trelowarren Street in Camborne, Fore Street in Bodmin and Meneage Street in Helston as closed. The Cornish Times reported that the affected branches are shown as “temporarily closed” on Google and on the Costa website, and have been hidden from the store locator. Neither title gives the total number of shops Kernow Koffi operated, so the full extent of the closures is not established.
Signs on the doors and the position of staff
The notices on the shops give different explanations. At Helston, a handwritten sign cites “circumstances beyond our control” and says the shop hopes to reopen soon, according to Cornwall Live.
At Bodmin, the sign refers to a technical fault, the Cornish Times reported. Staff at the affected shops have reportedly been placed on temporary lay-off, and Cornwall Live noted a suggestion that this came two months before Christmas. Costa has said employment issues sit with the franchise partner.
What is not yet known
Costa has not said whether the closed shops will reopen under a new franchise partner or under another arrangement, and it has given no timescale, a resale route taken by several coffee franchises in the UK. Kernow Koffi has not publicly explained the notices on its shop doors, which point to a technical fault in one town and to circumstances beyond its control in another.
Costa ends franchise with Kernow Koffi and shuts Cornwall shopsHow a franchise termination is governed
The UK has no franchise statute, as what a franchise is explains. A termination for breach is governed by the terms of the franchise agreement between the two companies and by general contract law, and those terms are not public. Any insolvency step by Kernow Koffi would appear on The Gazette and on its Companies House record; none was reported in the coverage reviewed.
