BuyMyCafe
UK-wide · Cafés, coffee shops, bakeries, tea rooms and delis

The Specialist Business Broker for Cafés and Hospitality Businesses

Specialist advice. Serious buyers. Confidential business sales.

BuyMyCafe helps owners of established UK cafés, coffee shops, bakeries, tea rooms, sandwich shops and delis work out what their business is worth, prepare it properly and sell it quietly to a buyer who can actually complete. If you are looking to buy an established café instead, tell us what you want and we will keep an eye out for you.

What Is My Café Worth? I'm Looking to Buy a Café

Nine types of hospitality business

What Kind of Business Are You Selling?

A specialty coffee shop is not valued the same way as a traditional high-street café, and a bakery café is different again. Choose the closest match to see how buyers value that type of business, who tends to buy it, and what to sort out before you sell.

Specialty UK coffee shop pour-over station with single-origin beans, gooseneck kettle and brewing scales on a timber bar
Class E (Daytime)
Specialty Coffee Shop, third-wave UK operators valued on coffee revenue mix and brand strength.

Specialty Coffee Shop & Espresso Bar

Brand-led third-wave operators where reputation, espresso kit and barista talent command premium SDE multiples.

Valued on: Adjusted Net Profit + Asset Value
Explore sector specialism
Classic British full-English breakfast plate served on white porcelain at an independent traditional UK café
Class E (Daytime)
Traditional Café, community greasy-spoon and all-day breakfast operators on protected high-street leases.

Traditional Café & Daytime Diner

Unbranded high-street and parade cafés trading on regulars, fry-ups and consistent weekly takings.

Valued on: Multiple of Weekly Takings
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Premium afternoon tea presentation on a three-tier stand with sandwiches, scones, and cakes on a wooden table in a UK tea room
Class E (Daytime)
Tea Room, heritage afternoon-tea destinations with strong tourism and dwell-time economics.

Boutique & Traditional Tea Room

High-margin rural tea rooms and tourist-trail destinations, frequently sold freehold to lifestyle buyers.

Valued on: Net Profit + Property (often Freehold)
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Artisan UK sandwich bar counter displaying fresh sourdough sandwiches, baguettes and salads ready for lunchtime service
Class E (Food to go)
Sandwich Bar, high-volume CBD lunch operators valued on weekly takings and footfall density.

Sandwich Bar & High-Street Food-to-Go

High-footfall city-centre food-to-go operations where weekday takings and corporate catering accounts set the price.

Valued on: Footfall Volume / Corporate Contracts
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Shelves of artisan olive oils, cheeses and cured produce inside an independent UK deli café with seating to the side
Class E (Dual Retail)
Deli Café, premium produce retail combined with all-day café seating and catering revenue.

Delicatessen & Farm Shop Café

Dual-stream delis and farm-shop cafés blending higher-margin retail with daytime seated trade.

Valued on: Gross Margin on Retail vs Food
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UK bakery–café baker adjusting freshly baked loaves on a wooden peel beside a commercial deck oven
Class E (Production)
Bakery Café, asset-heavy production sites with wholesale, retail and seated trade combined.

Independent Bakery Café

Production-led bakery cafés combining retail counter trade with a wholesale book, the strongest multiples in our taxonomy.

Valued on: Production Capacity + Wholesale Revenue
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Sleek modern UK dessert parlour counter showcasing artisan gelato scoops, waffles and finished plated desserts
Class E (Late Night)
Dessert Parlour, evening-weighted destination operators with high gross margin product mix.

Dessert Parlour & Sweet Café

Late-night dessert parlours, gelato counters and waffle bars trading hard on Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat volume.

Valued on: Delivery App Revenue Volume
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Evening-lit UK boutique bistro table set with a wine glass, casual lunch dish and warm pendant lighting overhead
Class E (Licensed)
Bistro Eatery, Class E daytime-into-evening operators with strong food GP and licensed trade.

Small Eatery & Bistro Café

Licensed daytime-into-evening bistros, brunch, lunch and small-plates trade with alcohol uplift on average spend.

Valued on: Average Cover Spend
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Atmospheric independent UK concept café interior blending coffee service with bookshelves, hanging plants and warm community seating
Class E (Daytime / Multi-Use)
Independent Coffee House & Hybrid Concept Café, neighbourhood operators and dual-revenue concept venues.

Independent Coffee House & Hybrid Concept Café

Independent neighbourhood coffee houses and hybrid concept cafés, bookshop, plant, cycle and board-game venues blending hospitality margins with secondary retail revenue.

Valued on: Adjusted Net Profit + Secondary Retail/Experiential Revenue Streams
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Live network · Updated continuously by our broker team
£4.5M+
Active Buyer Mandate Capital
340+
Vetted UK Private & Trade Acquirers
100%
Confidential Private Sales
9 / 9
Cafe Taxonomy Sectors Actively Covered

How a confidential café sale works

How We Sell Your Café Without the Whole Street Knowing

Most owners worry about the same thing: staff handing in notice, the landlord getting twitchy and the café down the road telling customers you are closing. Here is how we avoid all of that. Nothing about your business is shared until you say so.

  1. 01

    A free, private valuation

    Tell us your takings, profit and lease details. A specialist broker reviews them and comes back within one working day with a realistic price range. Nothing is listed or advertised anywhere.

  2. 02

    Quiet approaches to real buyers

    We describe your business by type, region and profit level only, with no name, address or photos. Every buyer is checked for experience and funding before they see anything more.

  3. 03

    Introductions only once you agree

    Your name and figures are shared only after a buyer signs a confidentiality agreement and you have personally approved the introduction. You decide who sees what, and when.

Find out what your café is worthRead how selling works

Seller and buyer walkthroughs

What Happens After You Get in Touch

These anonymised walkthroughs show how a private café sale or purchase typically unfolds, from the first enquiry through to completion.

Seller walkthroughEast Midlands market town

Selling a café without the team hearing about it

The owner of a busy town-centre café had run it for 11 years and wanted to sell so he could move closer to the coast. His biggest worry was that his two full-time staff would start looking for other jobs once they heard the business was on the market.

What happened after the enquiry

  1. 1He filled in the confidential valuation form on a Sunday evening. A broker called him on Monday morning.
  2. 2We valued the business using adjusted profit plus fixtures, then wrote a short anonymous summary with no name, street or photos.
  3. 3We approached three local operators we already knew. Two signed confidentiality agreements and came in for out-of-hours viewings.
  4. 4The owner accepted an offer from a nearby restaurant owner who wanted to add daytime trade. We handled landlord consent, TUPE and stock settlement.
  5. 5The staff were told only after exchange, two weeks before completion.

Outcome

The café sold at the asking price. The staff stayed on, the regulars kept coming and the landlord was happy because the new tenant had hospitality experience.

First enquiry to completion: 18 weeks

“I was dreading the whole thing, but nobody knew until I was ready to tell them. That was worth as much as the price.”

Seller, East Midlands café
Buyer walkthroughYorkshire

Buying a first café after six months of searching

A former hospitality manager had saved a deposit and wanted to buy her own bakery café. She had been scrolling through public listing sites but kept finding overpriced businesses or adverts with no real financial information.

What happened after the enquiry

  1. 1She registered as a buyer and told us her budget, preferred region and that she wanted a business turning over £6,000–£9,000 a week.
  2. 2Three weeks later we matched her with an off-market bakery café whose owners were testing the water quietly.
  3. 3She signed a confidentiality agreement before seeing the name, address or accounts.
  4. 4After a viewing outside opening hours and a meeting with the sellers, she made an offer subject to lease approval and a stock check.
  5. 5We introduced her to a solicitor who understood leasehold cafés, and the sellers provided 24 months of management accounts.

Outcome

She completed the purchase six weeks after her first viewing. The sellers stayed on for a two-week handover and introduced her to the regular wholesale customers.

Registration to completion: 14 weeks

“I would never have found it on the open market. Having someone check the seller's figures first saved me from a bad decision earlier in the year.”

First-time buyer, Yorkshire
Seller walkthroughSouth West

A retirement sale with the recipe book handed over properly

A husband-and-wife team in their mid-sixties ran a bakery café known for its bread and pastries. They wanted to retire but were worried a quick sale would damage the reputation they had spent 20 years building.

What happened after the enquiry

  1. 1They booked a confidential call 18 months before their target exit date so they could improve the books and lease before going to market.
  2. 2We helped them tidy up their supplier contracts, extend the lease by five years and document the recipes and production schedule.
  3. 3When they were ready, we approached two local buyers and one first-time owner-operator. All three signed NDAs.
  4. 4The first-time buyer offered the best price and asked for a four-week handover, including training for the new head baker.
  5. 5The sale completed just before Christmas, which suited both sides for stock and staff planning.

Outcome

The business sold at full asking price with a structured handover. The new owner kept the name, the recipes and all six staff.

First call to completion: 11 months

“We did not want to just take the money and run. Knowing the buyer would carry on properly mattered more than squeezing every last pound.”

Seller, South West bakery café
Seller walkthroughLondon commuter town

Two credible buyers, one clean sale

A specialty coffee shop near a station was turning over nearly £12,000 a week with a strong lease. The owner needed to sell quickly because of a family illness overseas.

What happened after the enquiry

  1. 1The owner submitted a valuation request on Tuesday. We had a price range and buyer shortlist by Thursday.
  2. 2We approached four buyers from our register. Two were local operators, one was a multi-site group and one was a first-time buyer.
  3. 3After NDAs and out-of-hours viewings, the two local operators both made offers within 48 hours of each other.
  4. 4We ran a short best-and-final round with clear terms, deposit and completion date. The stronger operator won on speed and experience, not just price.
  5. 5The solicitors and landlord were briefed early, so the lease assignment did not become a bottleneck.

Outcome

The coffee shop sold above the guide price with a four-week completion. The winning buyer had already run two cafés, so landlord consent was granted quickly.

Enquiry to completion: 9 weeks

“I needed certainty more than anything. Within two weeks I knew I had a serious buyer and a realistic completion date.”

Seller, commuter-town coffee shop
Seller walkthroughWales

Selling the family deli to the person who already ran it

A family deli and farm shop had been trading for 15 years. The owners wanted to step back but did not want to sell to a stranger who might change the character of the business.

What happened after the enquiry

  1. 1During the valuation call we realised their manager had been effectively running day-to-day operations for three years.
  2. 2We valued the business and introduced the owners to a solicitor and accountant who understood management buyouts.
  3. 3The manager put together a funding package using personal savings and a small business loan.
  4. 4We structured the deal as an asset sale with a deferred payment element, so the sellers received most of the money at completion and the rest over 18 months.
  5. 5The sellers stayed on one day a week for three months to help with suppliers and customer introductions.

Outcome

The deli stayed in local hands, all four staff kept their jobs and the sellers retired without the business losing its identity.

First discussion to completion: 22 weeks

“It felt like passing it to family rather than selling it. The customers barely noticed the change.”

Seller, Welsh deli and farm shop

Guides for owners and buyers

Straight Answers on Selling and Buying a Café

Plain-English guides on what your café is worth, how leases and staff transfers work, what buyers check before they commit, and how long a sale really takes.

Read all guides →
Flat-lay of a ceramic coffee cup, notepad and pen on a warm wooden desk, preparing a UK café valuation
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The Master Guide to Valuing a Café or Coffee Shop in the UK

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Architectural facade of an independent UK boutique café on a quiet British high street
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Class E Commercial Leases and Assignments for Café Owners: The Definitive Guide

Master Class E commercial leases, assignment clauses, and landlord negotiations to protect the value of your UK café. Learn how to transfer your lease smoothly to a new owner.

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Display of fresh artisan pastries inside the curved glass counter of a UK independent café
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Café Rent Reviews and Lease Renewals: An Owner's Plain-English Guide

Master the complexities of UK commercial rent reviews and lease renewals. Protect your cafe's daily profit margin and safeguard your final exit valuation today.

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