Manchester-based Sim Trava operates dozens of licensed Costa shops throughout the North of England, with the appointment of its first CEO coming 12 months after it grew its property by a 3rd
Costa Espresso franchisee Sim Trava has appointed its first CEO because it gears up for additional UK enlargement.
Based by Simon and Tracy Vardy in 2004, Manchester-based Sim Trava opened its first licensed Costa outlet out there city of Northwich in October 2005.
Costa is Sim Trava’s sole franchise enterprise, with the group at the moment working 80 UK retailers, primarily throughout the North of England.
In June 2022, Sim Trava acquired 17 espresso outlets from Costa – the primary time the UK espresso chain had offered current shops on to a franchise associate – in a deal facilitated by a £7.1m ($9.4m) funding package deal from HSBC.
The appointment of former HSBC Franchise Director Marc Talbot as its first CEO comes a yr after Sim Trava bolstered its Costa community with the acquisition of an additional 21 shops – this time from QFM Group.
Sim Trava is Costa’s second-largest UK franchise associate, after Essex-based Scoffs Group, which has over 110 shops. Most of Sim Trava’s Costa retailers are excessive avenue and purchasing centre venues.
Franchised enlargement types an essential a part of Costa’s UK development technique, with roughly 44% of its 2,700-store portfolio out there operated by franchise companions.
In April 2025, Costa expanded its partnership with actual property advisor Savills to open new excessive avenue and purchasing centre areas – a transfer which helped it bounce again from two successive years of stalled outlet development final yr.
Alongside conventional excessive avenue and mall retailers, Costa can be investing closely in drive-thru. In March 2026, the espresso chain opened its four-hundredth UK drive-thru web site on the Norwich Broadway Enterprise Park in Norfolk.
The shop format is a key pillar of Costa’s enlargement push, with an additional 40 websites set to be added by the tip of 2026. Sim Trava at the moment operates half a dozen drive-thru websites throughout Blackpool, Chorley and Preston.
