Scotland included in Krispy Kreme's new store recipe

KRISPY Kreme – the American doughnut chain – plans to open outlets in Edinburgh and Glasgow next year, under a multi-million pound UK-wide expansion.

The group has secured 12 million in finance from Santander to open 40 more British stores over five years and take on some 600 more staff.

The firm, which launched in the UK in September 2003, has 42 stores across the UK and Ireland – none of which are north of the Border – and 720 staff.

Rob Hunt, its chief financial officer, told The Scotsman: "Scotland absolutely features in our plans. It's very much on the radar: we're looking at sites in Edinburgh and Glasgow as we speak. The hope is we will be able to open our first Scottish store during 2011."

Hunt said Krispy Kreme had been unable to branch into Scotland because its products are baked overnight and sold fresh, and its northern-most site at present was in Manchester.

It plans to open a bakery in the Central Belt before launching the stand-alone stores, Hunt said.

That will also enable the firm to supply Tesco in Scotland. It already has a presence in 186 of the grocery giant's stores.

Krispy Kreme – which has been criticised for its high-fat products – has pencilled in sales from its UK operations of 30m for the 12 months to 31 January, up from 28.6m in the previous year.