The number of independent coffee shops has grown a staggering 160 per cent in one UK city over the last four years, according to new research from Simply Business.
Analysing business insurance policies to understand current trends, we’ve uncovered the cities with a thriving independent café scene.
The data also reveals the nation’s hotspots with the highest concentration of coffee shops per capita.
As the hospitality industry prepares to celebrate UK Coffee Week, it’s the perfect time to sit down with a cuppa and see where’s a thriving home for indie coffee shops.
Full steam ahead in Birmingham
Birmingham has seen the fastest growth in independent coffee shops, rising 160 per cent from 2022 to 2025. The Midlands’ city is home to a growing range of specialty coffee shops and shows no signs of slowing down.
Stoke, Reading, Hull, and Southampton complete the top five when it comes to the latest growth trends.
Fastest growing areas
| UK town/city | % rise 2022-2025 |
| Birmingham | 160 |
| Stoke | 150 |
| Reading | 144 |
| Hull | 133 |
| Southampton | 80 |
Data is based on the percentage growth of coffee shops insured by Simply Business from 2022 to 2025.
More coffee shops than people?
Not quite. But analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) population data and the number of independent coffee shops in the UK reveals the city where you’d be spoilt for choice.
The Berkshire town of Reading has 12 indie coffee shops for every 100,000 residents, and despite not having official city status it tops our list in this category.
On average there’s one independent coffee shop for every 18,048 residents across the analysed cities.
Other cities with a high density of coffee shops include Nottingham and Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, Coventry has the lowest number of coffee shops per resident, followed by Bradford and Hull.
Surprisingly, Hull saw high growth but still has a relatively low number of coffee shops per resident in 2025.
| Town/city | No. coffee shops per 100,000 residents |
| Reading | 12 |
| Nottingham | 12 |
| Edinburgh | 10 |
| Hull | 2 |
| Bradford | 2 |
| Coventry | 1 |
The number of residents is based on Office for National Statistics data for each city, and a ratio has been calculated based on the number of independent coffee shops currently insured by Simply Business.
UK coffee shop hotspots 2025
Unsurprisingly, London tops the list for most independent coffee shops in 2025. Scotland also features in the rankings with two cities making it to the top five – Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The hotspots are based on current Simply Business coffee shop insurance policies due for renewal in 2025.
Top 5 coffee shop locations
- London
- Birmingham
- Glasgow
- Liverpool
- Edinburgh
‘Taking the plunge’
One small business owner shared their story of quitting their job to run their own independent coffee shop. Andrew had the technical knowledge of how the coffee industry worked and decided he needed a change.
“My life was in desperate need of a snow globe style shake-up. I thought it was now or never to take the plunge and try and create our own coffee shop business,” he shares.
After finding a family-run garden centre with space for a coffee shop, Andrew and his family spent £5,000 renovating the space. Within five months they were ready to open Lowes Coffee House in February 2023.
“Fast forward to 2025 and we employ nine people and we are also a micro-roaster, showcasing single origin specialty coffee.
“I returned to the technical side of the coffee industry, but this time setting up my own technical service company,” Andrew explains.
How to start a coffee shop
If you dream of escaping the daily grind and running your own small coffee shop, Andrew of Lowes Coffee House in Leicester shares these top tips:
- Go into it for the right reasons. If you’re true to your vision and follow the process, good things will happen. If you don’t know much about coffee then learn. Visit places, look at what you like and don’t like, write everything down, and find the gap that you can fill.
- Be prepared to work extremely hard. I try and look at every difficult period as a challenge to be faced, the reward being the resilience earned as I come out of the other side.
- Get an accountant early – and don’t go into debt on fancy equipment. Buy secondhand, start small and slow. A coffee shop business is hospitality, no one cares about your fancy coffee machine and expensive cups, they care about a genuine smile and a ‘hello’.
If you do start your own coffee shop, don’t forget to sort your business insurance. Public liability insurance and product liability insurance (usually sold together) can help to cover you if you’re sued by a member of the public for injury or damage.
Methodology
The fastest growing areas data is based on the percentage growth of coffee shops insured by Simply Business from 2022 to 2025. The coffee shop hotspots for 2025 is based on the number of coffee shop policies at Simply Business due for renewal in 2025.
The ratio was worked out using ONS data for the number of residents in each city and the number of coffee shop policies at Simply Business due for renewal in 2025. This was analysed to understand how many independent coffee shops there are in that city for every 100,000 residents.
The data was analysed on 17 September 2025.
More guides for hospitality businesses
- How to register as self-employed
- How to start a business in 9 steps
- Tipping rules for small businesses
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