Starbucks UK beat its target of 75 new stores in its 2026 financial year and needs to open close to 100 in the 2027 year to stay on course for 500 new stores by 2031, managing director Darren King told Propel on 9 November. The chain also plans to recruit 7,500 baristas over five years.
The 500-store plan was announced in March 2026, according to The Independent. King, the chain’s vice president and managing director for the UK, gave Propel his first trade interview since taking the post, and said the company sees growth outside London. The 2027 financial year began just over a month before the interview, so the opening programme for the year is at an early stage.
The opening target and where it points
King told Propel that the company “smashed” its target of 75 new stores in the 2026 financial year and now needs to open “towards 100” in 2027. He added that the company sees “a lot of opportunity outside the capital”. A summary of the interview on Propel’s site says growth will focus on central England and the north, with continued investment in existing stores and in smaller formats.
The hiring plan
The Independent reported on Monday 9 November that Starbucks plans to hire 7,500 baristas across the UK over the next five years, with recruitment concentrated in the Midlands, the north of England, Wales and Scotland. King said in a statement carried by the paper: “We’re proud to be creating thousands of new jobs across the UK over the next five years.”
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said the investment was “hugely welcome”. The report notes that staff in the chain’s company-operated stores skew young, with more than half under 24, a point that links the hiring plan to the entry-level jobs market.
Good to know
A Propel summary refers to a licensing restructure at Starbucks UK, and the open text available does not say which of the chain’s stores are company-operated and which run under licence. This article therefore refers to the business as a chain.
What the target implies
A programme of close to 100 openings in a single financial year, set against the 75 achieved in 2026, implies a rise of roughly a third in annual openings. Neither the company nor Propel has published a year-by-year breakdown of how the 500-store ambition is to be reached.
A Propel opinion piece listed in November describes a licensing restructure and the integration of more than 100 former 23.5 Degrees sites into the Starbucks UK estate. The detail sits behind the publication’s subscription, and no ownership structure is stated in the open text. More brands in this sector are listed in the coffee franchise listings, and the latest franchise news is on the L’Express Franchise homepage.
