Bakery group Paul UK turns to franchise model to begin expansion across the UK

The 38-strong chain, which is predominantly based in the capital, says it is looking to create a franchise model to enable it to open in towns and cities across the UK.

It is promising to provide franchisees with a national supply chain, economies of scale, and a flexible retail format to fit any location as well as training and help with recruitment, marketing and PR.

Partners will be offered a choice of three restaurant models – Café, of which sites are 1,500sqft+; Express, with venues between 500 and 800sqft+; and Kiosk, with sites around 500sqft.

Café sites are typically situated in busy footfall locations in town and city centres as well as suburban villages and shopping centres while the Express model has yellow branding and is positioned to fit in travel hubs and high footfall areas and operates a more casual self service style.

The Kiosk model is best suited to high footfall areas such as train stations, travel hubs and shopping malls and can be designed to look like more permanent fixtures, pop-up venues or grab-and-go concepts, it says.

“As we enter the franchise market, we will be looking for like-minded, experienced investors and operators who are just as passionate about baking and quality as we are,” says Mark Hilton, CEO of PAUL UK.

“Whilst we continue to grow the brand in London, we have also identified numerous national opportunities outside of the capital, which will be enabled predominantly, although not exclusively, by working with franchise partners. We are currently determining priority cities, but if approached by the right investors outside of these areas, we are open to having dialogue with them”.

Paul UK has been trading in London for the past 20 years and moved into Oxford six years ago.