Starbucks heads to UK motorways

24 February 2010
Starbucks and Welcome Break have signed a tie-in deal to bring the US coffee into motorway service stations

Drivers will be able to stop off for a Starbucks coffee after the chain announced it will open its first branches at motorway service stations.

A tie-up deal with Welcome Break will see about 29 Coffee Primo outlets rebranded as Starbucks in the next 16 months, with two sites set to open before Easter.

Shops at Hopwood Park on the M42 and Oxford Services on the M40 will be the first service stations to sell the US-based chain's coffee to thirsty drivers.

There are more than 600 Starbucks cafes in Britain, but only one of these is readily accessible to motorists - a drive-thru site in Cardiff.

Nearly 80 million people pass through Welcome Break's 24 sites every year, and the company will celebrate 50 years of its first M1 facility at Newport Pagnell this August.

The group includes other brands such as Burger King, Waitrose and Days Inn.

Welcome Break chief executive Rod McKie said: "This will complement the expansion of the Waitrose estate within Welcome Break and is part of a significant investment by the company."

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