Optimum Group, the Liverpool operator behind almost 30 Costa sites across the North West, reported turnover down 3% to £11.5 million and pre-tax profit down to £475,496 in the year to 31 August 2025. The multi-brand franchisee says it is still looking for new sites.
Founded in 2006 by Dave Connor, its owner and sole director, Optimum Group employs more than 180 staff. Costa accounts for nearly 96% of its sales. Alongside the coffee shops, the group runs two Kaspa’s Desserts outlets in Liverpool and St Helens, open since 2016, trades as an I am Döner franchisee in Merseyside since 2022, and owns a newsagent, a spread across the coffee and fast food categories. Its latest accounts, reported by Liverpool Business News on 28 September 2026, show net assets up from £2.5 million to £2.7 million and cash of £806,322.
Costs squeeze a multi-site franchisee
Turnover slipped 3% to £11.5 million, and pre-tax profit fell from £646,135 to £475,496, a drop of about a quarter, on a model where the management service fee and marketing levy are charged on turnover rather than profit, as the franchise contract: key clauses every franchisee must know sets out.
The group attributes the pressure to its cost base and to weaker customer spending. Michael Edgar, group operating officer of Optimum Group, said the year had seen the business “maintain its position and deliver results consistent with the 2024 year despite challenging conditions relating to rising costs, inflation and cost of living increases affecting customers’ disposable income”.
Two years of rising sales, then a pause
The dip follows a period of growth. In the year to 31 August 2023, Optimum reported turnover of £10.4 million, up nearly 10%, from 27 Costa outlets, with Costa then accounting for 94% of sales and pre-tax profit below £23,000. At the time, Dave Connor said: “The competitive nature of the coffee industry is increasing year-on-year with numerous players (both chains and independents).”
The latest year also absorbed UK-wide payroll increases: from April 2025, employer National Insurance rose to 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year, and the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour.
Three brands under one roof
Optimum is a typical multi-brand operator: one large coffee estate carries the business, with smaller dessert and food brands added around it. The weighting is stark, with Costa generating almost all of the turnover.
That concentration means the group’s results move largely with Costa’s own trading. Kaspa’s and I am Döner add dessert and food formats, but at their current size they account for only a small share of the business.
How Costa franchising works in the UK
Franchised Costa shops exist in the UK, and Costa’s own store finder labels some of them “Costa Franchise”. No public UK franchise recruitment page was found on Costa’s site, so the terms on which operators such as Optimum join the network are not published, leaving the benchmarks in what it costs to open a franchise in the UK as the only comparison available.
Still looking for sites
Despite the dip, the group has not changed course. Edgar said Optimum would “actively source new sites or expand our Costa franchises using the popular brand name”, and the rising net assets and cash balance give it room to do so. The group has not published a target number of openings.
Its accounts for the year to 31 August 2026, due at Companies House by 31 May 2027, will show whether the cost pressures eased and whether new sites were added. Brands recruiting operators on published terms can be compared across the UK franchise directory.
