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Coffee shop and café companies in the Preston area

316 coffee shop and café companies have a registered office in the Preston area (PR postcodes), and 97 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £18,319 in cash and owed £34,155 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 PR postcodes, including Preston, Southport.

The numbers

Coffee shop and café companies in the Preston area (PR postcodes) compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasurePrestonUK
Registered companies31644,437
Formed in 2025 or 202697 (31%)36%
Being struck off or in liquidation89 (28%)16%
Typical cash at year end£18,31945 accounts£8,573
Typical amount owed at year end£34,155115 accounts£27,813
Typical number of employees4119 accounts4

What this means if you’re starting one

More of these companies are closing than in most trades

9.8% of coffee shop and café companies in the Preston area (PR postcodes) are currently being struck off, against 6.9% 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

31% of the 316 coffee shop and café companies in the Preston area (PR postcodes) were formed in 2025–26, against 20% of all companies in the Preston area (PR 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.

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical coffee shop and café company in the Preston area (PR postcodes) holds £18,319 in cash and owes £34,155; 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.

Planning a business like this in Preston?

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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 Preston

All business benchmarks in Preston