The Cheshire-based group is one of Costa Coffee’s largest and longest-serving UK franchisees and now operates 80 stores, primarily across the North of England
Cheshire-based Sim Trava has bolstered its licensed Costa Coffee footprint after acquiring 21 stores from QFM Group for an undisclosed sum.
Sim Trava opened its first licensed Costa Coffee store in the market town of Northwich in October 2005. The acquisition of QFM’s licensed outlets takes the group’s Costa Coffee franchise from 58 sites to 79, primarily across the North of England.
The deal makes Sim Trava one of Costa Coffee’s largest franchisees in the UK, behind Essex-based Scoffs Group, which operates 110 sites. It also brings QFM’s 18-year association with Costa Coffee to an end. The Sheffield-based group will now focus on its licensed KFC and Taco Bell fast-food networks, as well as scaling its 24-store Dunkin’ franchise in the UK.
Costa Coffee is the UK’s largest coffee chain with over 2,670 stores. In April 2025, the business expanded its partnership with real estate advisor Savills to open new high street and shopping centre locations across the UK – a move which could see the Coca-Cola-owned brand bounce back from two successive years of stalled outlet growth.
