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Coffee shop and café companies in the Medway area

283 coffee shop and café companies have a registered office in the Medway area (ME postcodes), and 76 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £5,774 in cash and owed £26,245 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 ME postcodes, including Medway, Maidstone, Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham.

The numbers

Coffee shop and café companies in the Medway area (ME postcodes) compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureMedwayUK
Registered companies28344,437
Formed in 2025 or 202676 (27%)36%
Being struck off or in liquidation44 (16%)16%
Typical cash at year end£5,77466 accounts£8,573
Typical amount owed at year end£26,245134 accounts£27,813
Typical number of employees4138 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 Medway area (ME postcodes) holds £5,774 in cash and owes £26,245; 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

9.2% of coffee shop and café companies in the Medway area (ME postcodes) are currently being struck off, against 7% 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.

At least a quarter of these companies owe more than they own

The lowest quarter of coffee shop and café companies in the Medway area (ME postcodes) report net assets of -£6,638 or less; the median is £841 (128 filings).

Many operators are propped up by loans, unpaid bills or money from the owner rather than by profit kept in the business. It is easy to keep going for longer than the numbers justify.

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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 Medway

All business benchmarks in Medway