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Coffee shop and café companies in the Belfast area

1,083 coffee shop and café companies have a registered office in the Belfast area (BT postcodes), and 295 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £20,756 in cash and owed £48,809 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Unlicenced restaurants and cafes” (SIC 56102), which also covers café, juice or smoothie bar. Covers companies with a registered office in BT postcodes, including Belfast, Derry, Londonderry, Lisburn.

The numbers

Coffee shop and café companies in the Belfast area (BT postcodes) compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureBelfastUK
Registered companies1,08344,437
Formed in 2025 or 2026295 (27%)36%
Being struck off or in liquidation159 (15%)16%
Typical cash at year end£20,756200 accounts£8,573
Typical amount owed at year end£48,809515 accounts£27,813
Typical number of employees5539 accounts4

What this means if you’re starting one

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical coffee shop and café company in the Belfast area (BT postcodes) holds £20,756 in cash and owes £48,809; that cash figure is lower than 89% of UK industries.

Typical operators end the year holding less cash than they owe, so there is little slack if takings dip or a big bill lands early.

More of these companies are closing than in most trades

8.2% of coffee shop and café companies in the Belfast area (BT postcodes) are currently being struck off, against 5.2% of all companies there. Nationally that rate is higher than 94% of UK industries.

Closures run high here. It is a churn signal, not a survival rate, but it means the common failure points are worth learning before you start.

Most of your competition will be other newcomers

27% of the 1,083 coffee shop and café companies in the Belfast area (BT postcodes) were formed in 2025–26, against 19% of all companies in the Belfast area (BT postcodes). Nationally, that share of new companies is higher than 95% of UK industries.

New rivals are arriving faster than in most trades, so your customers already have fresh options. Being new is not a difference on its own.

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What these figures can’t tell you

Companies are counted where their registered office is, which may be an accountant or a home address rather than a shop. Sole traders and partnerships are not on the register, and electronically filed accounts cover roughly 60–75% of accounts filed each year. The figures describe companies that exist; they cannot prove demand for your idea or predict whether it will work. How the figures are built.

Coffee shop and café in other places

Other businesses in Belfast

All business benchmarks in Belfast