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Coffee shop and café companies in Bristol

512 coffee shop and café companies have a registered office in Bristol, and 174 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £7,050 in cash and owed £30,457 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.

The numbers

Coffee shop and café companies in Bristol compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureBristolUK
Registered companies51244,437
Formed in 2025 or 2026174 (34%)36%
Being struck off or in liquidation79 (15%)16%
Typical cash at year end£7,05097 accounts£8,573
Typical amount owed at year end£30,457226 accounts£27,813
Typical number of employees5226 accounts4

What this means if you’re starting one

Most of your competition will be other newcomers

34% of the 512 coffee shop and café companies in Bristol were formed in 2025–26, against 18% of all companies in Bristol. 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.

More of these companies are closing than in most trades

13% of coffee shop and café companies in Bristol are currently being struck off, against 5.8% 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.

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical coffee shop and café company in Bristol holds £7,050 in cash and owes £30,457; 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.

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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 Bristol

All business benchmarks in Bristol