Iconic coffee chain with 1,000 branches reveals plan to open 100 new UK stores – see full list of first 19 locations

AN ICONIC coffee chain with 1,000 branches has unveiled a plan to open 100 new UK stores.

Coffee lovers will be delighted to know the popular retailer has revealed it is opening the doors for more branches soon.

Starbucks is set to fuel Britain's love for caffeine with a bold expansion strategy.

It has announced the opening of 100 new stores across the UK - which will include a mixture of company-operated and franchised stores.

The brand it is splashing over £30million in order to open the new cafes in the next few months.

The coffee giant already has 1,066 UK branches - 318 of which are company-owned and 748 are run by licensees.

You can find your nearest Starbucks branch using the store locator on its website.

Duncan Moir, president Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "Innovation remains key to Starbucks ability to meet our customers’ changing needs and we’re investing in our digital channels and developing new store formats such as digitally-forward smaller stores and Drive Thrus.

“Whilst we are cautious about the macro-economic environment, we will continue to invest to grow the region this year."

Overall, the company is planning to open up 300 stores across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as a whole.

It's also hoping to renovate 30 company-operated stores over the course of the year.

It comes as Starbucks fans were saddened to hear their Dalton Park store, in Murton, Country Durham, would be closing down in hours.

And at the end of last year Starbucks shuttered their coffee house in Botanic Avenue, Belfast, for good.

The chain also closed its branch in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on July 21, according to local news reports.

Meanwhile, Caffe Nero will open its first-ever 24-hour drive-thru at Stanstead Airport in the Spring.

The popular cafe chain which many coffee lovers think is "better than Costa and Starbucks" already has more than 600 locations.

The new store will be situated just 500 yards from the main terminal building on the main road into and out of the airport.

Caffe Nero is the fourth-largest coffee chain in the UK behind other big names such as Costa and Starbucks.