Costa Coffee has opened its 400th UK drive-thru, at Norwich Broadway Enterprise Park, and plans to open up to 40 more during 2026.
Costa is now the UK’s largest drive-thru coffee operator. It opened its first UK drive-thru in 2011, and the format has become a key part of its expansion, meeting demand for quick, accessible coffee, particularly at roadside and retail park sites.
“Drive-thrus are one of the fastest-growing parts of our retail estate, and play an important role in meeting changing customer missions. For many customers it’s about convenience – grabbing a coffee on the commute, during the school run or while travelling.”
Nick Ridley, Property & Store Development Director at Costa Coffee
Sit in or drive through
Most of Costa’s drive-thrus are co-located with a full coffee shop, so customers can choose to sit in or take away. Its wider UK estate numbers more than 2,800 stores across high streets, retail parks, shopping centres, transport hubs and drive-thru sites, and over the past year more than 110 high street locations and over 100 stores in shopping centres and retail parks have been refurbished, including the modernised Great Portland Street store.
“Our coffee shops remain central to the Costa Coffee experience,” Nick Ridley added. “Drive-thrus are not a replacement for the high street – they complement our wider estate by serving different moments in a customer’s day and helping us reach customers where they want us to be.”
Nick Ridley, Property & Store Development Director at Costa Coffee
A growing format
Industry data from Allegra indicates that the number of drive-thru coffee sites in the UK has grown by 6.7% over the past year, with nearly half of consumers using the format in 2025. Costa says new sites are becoming more complex to deliver, however, with planning constraints, rising construction costs and competition for suitable roadside locations lengthening timelines and putting upward pressure on rents.
The milestone is part of a broader programme of investment across Costa’s UK estate, covering new openings, relocations and refurbishments, with a store also announced for The Liberty in Romford.
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