Krispy Kreme spots hole in Edinburgh market

DOUGHNUT chain Krispy Kreme UK, which is due to open its first Scottish outlet in Edinburgh this month, is eyeing further expansion north of the Border in a move that could create at least 200 jobs.

The firm, which sold more than 50 million doughnuts and one million cups of coffee in the UK during the past financial year, will open the doors of its Hermiston Gait branch on 13 February, almost ten years after its first UK store launched in London.

Joint managing director Richard Cheshire said he is in talks to expand the brand, with smaller branches in Livingston and Stirling to sell the doughnuts baked at Hermiston Gait.

He is also aiming to open a store in central Edinburgh, “but that’s a little more complicated because there’s not so much availability”.

Cheshire added: “Depending on how people respond to the business and how successful we are, we would envisage between six and ten stores over the next two years.

“We’ve hired 70 people so far in Edinburgh, so we’d be hiring at least 200 people if we had eight stores.”

Food industry veteran Cheshire joined Krispy Kreme UK as operations director in 2003, a position he held for seven years before becoming chief operations officer.

Along with fellow joint managing director Rob Hunt, he was involved in a £25 million management buyout in 2011, which saw private equity firm Alcuin Capital take a majority stake in the business.

The chain opened seven stores in the year to 31 January, giving it a total of 45 outlets, and the expansion helped revenues jump 26 per cent to £42.3 million. Pre-tax profits soared 73 per cent to £1m.

Krispy Kreme was founded in North Carolina in the United States in 1937. The US group licenses out the brand in international markets but does not have a stake in the UK franchise.

Cheshire said: “It’s very much a UK business and we own everything here. No-one else is getting their hands on it. We’re proud and passionate about what we do and like to control as much as we can.”