iCafe

What iCafe does

iCafe is a Glasgow-based, privately held coffee house and internet cafe chain operating two physical locations in the city — 72 Ingram Street (Merchant City) and 250 Woodlands Road — under the legal entity iCafe Limited (company number SC400929), incorporated in Scotland in or around 2005. The company sells coffee, food, and beverages, with all food halal-certified and prepared daily in a central kitchen and all coffee drawn from a proprietary triple-certified blend roasted weekly in-house.

Operationally, iCafe combines a traditional cafe front-of-house with a digital layer via the iCafe mobile app (iOS and Android), which supports contact-free ordering, table ordering, QR-code scanning at till, and the iCafe Rewards Scheme loyalty programme (5 points per £1 spent, convertible at 50p per 10 points). Payment processing is handled by Global Payments Inc. under PCI DSS standards. The company also offers meeting room hire through third-party venue platforms Tagvenue and Zipcube, and an "iCafe at Home" retail range of signature coffees and teas sold in-store for off-premise consumption.

The business model is primarily direct-to-consumer retail food and beverage sales at the two owned Glasgow locations, supplemented by franchise and licensing royalties (with franchisees participating in the iCafe Rewards Scheme), meeting room hire, and in-store retail products. Customer segments are predominantly general consumers (students, remote workers, casual diners) with a secondary business/corporate segment for meeting room bookings. Marketing channels are primarily the company's own website, Instagram, the mobile app, the rewards email channel, and outreach to franchise partners and investors.

Name

iCafe

Legal name

iCafe Limited

Website

https://icafe.uk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

iCafe is a Glasgow-based, privately held coffee house and internet cafe chain operating two locations, serving halal-certified food and a proprietary roasted coffee blend, with a mobile app-based loyalty program, franchise expansion, and meeting room hire.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Coffee Shop / Cafe Chain

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG)

Keywords

• Coffee house chain
• Halal cafe service
• Internet cafe
• Mobile loyalty program
• Cafe franchise

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail Food & Beverage Sales: Revenue from selling coffee, food, and beverages at owned cafe locations in Glasgow. All food is halal-certified, made fresh daily in central kitchen. Own triple-certified coffee blend roasted weekly.
2. Franchise Fees: Revenue from franchise partnerships where franchisees operate iCafe branded locations under license.
3. Meeting Room Bookings: Revenue from renting cafe meeting room facilities, booked through the company's own booking system and third-party platforms (Tagvenue, Zipcube).
4. iCafe at Home Retail Products: Retail products including signature coffees, teas, and other items sold in-store for customers to enjoy at home, extending brand revenue beyond physical cafe visits.
5. Loyalty/Rewards Program: Points-based rewards scheme where customers earn 5 points per £1 spent, automatically converted to monetary value (50p per 10 points), driving customer retention and repeat visits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

iCafe operates two Glasgow-based coffee house and internet cafe locations serving halal-certified food prepared daily in a central kitchen, alongside its own triple-certified coffee blend roasted weekly. Revenue is generated from in-store food and beverage sales, iCafe at Home retail coffee and tea products, a mobile app-based loyalty rewards scheme, meeting room hire facilities, and franchise licence fees from partner-operated branded locations.

Product overview

iCafe is a multi-award winning coffee house and internet cafe chain operating as a unified offering combining physical cafe locations with digital services. The core product portfolio includes two Glasgow-based cafe locations serving food and beverages, the iCafe App (mobile application for ordering, loyalty, and payments), the iCafe Rewards Scheme (loyalty program), iCafe at Home (retail coffee and tea products), and meeting room hire facilities. All food is halal-certified and prepared in a central kitchen daily.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• iCafe App Mobile application for iOS and Android that allows customers to explore the iCafe menu, place contact-free orders, collect loyalty points, order from their table, locate stores, and process secure payments. Targets individual consumers and franchise customers of iCafe cafes.
• iCafe Rewards Scheme Customer loyalty programme where members earn 5 points per £1 spent, with points automatically converted to monetary value (50p per 10 points) redeemable at any iCafe location. Targeted at iCafe cafe consumers and extended to participating franchise locations.
• iCafe at Home Retail product line bringing iCafe's core and signature coffees, teas, and other retail products to in-store purchase so customers can enjoy the iCafe coffee experience at home. Targeted at iCafe cafe visitors and brand enthusiasts.
• iCafe Meeting Rooms Meeting room hire facility at the iCafe Merchant City (Ingram Street) location available for booking through the company's website and third-party venue platforms Tagvenue and Zipcube. Targeted at companies and professionals needing Glasgow city-centre meeting space for corporate meetings, client presentations, and team sessions.
• iCafe Cafe Food & Beverage Service In-store cafe service at iCafe's two Glasgow locations (72 Ingram Street and 250 Woodlands Road), serving halal-certified food prepared daily in a central kitchen, the company's own triple-certified coffee blend roasted weekly, teas, and related beverages. Targeted at general consumers in Glasgow seeking quality halal cafe food and coffee.

Quantifiable outcome

• Earn 5 points per £1 spent through loyalty program

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Global Payments Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationPCI DSS compliant payment processing provider handling credit/debit card transactions for iCafe's retail locations and online ordering. Global Payments Inc. is the chosen third-party provider for secure payment processing services.
• Franchise PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFranchise partners operate iCafe branded cafe locations. Per terms, franchisees participate in the iCafe Rewards Scheme allowing customers to earn and redeem points at franchise locations. iCafe provides the brand, central kitchen products, and coffee supply.
• TagvenueminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party venue booking platform listing iCafe meeting rooms for corporate bookings and events.
• ZipcubeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party venue booking platform listing iCafe Merchant City meeting room for bookings.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pret a Manger: UK-based cafe chain serving coffee, food, and meeting-friendly seating in city centres. Comparable to iCafe on the cafe-plus-food model and meeting room use case, though Pret operates a much larger, centrally produced kitchen-supplied network.
• Costa Coffee: The UK's largest coffee chain, operating thousands of branded and franchised stores across the country. Costa is the most direct competitive comparable to iCafe in the UK coffee/cafe category, though at vastly greater scale.
• Esquires Coffee: Franchise-led UK and international coffee chain operating sit-in cafes. Comparable to iCafe on the franchise-led, multi-unit UK cafe model, and on the use of own-roast coffee in stores.
• Harris + Hoole: UK specialty coffee chain with a cafe and own-roast product offering, originally backed by a major grocery retailer. Directly comparable to iCafe on the specialty coffee plus cafe format, though Harris + Hoole has historically had a different ownership and rollout trajectory.
• Boston Tea Party: Independent UK specialty coffee and food cafe chain with a strong ethical-sourcing, in-house-kitchen model. Comparable to iCafe on the freshly prepared, ethical, multi-site cafe concept, though without iCafe's halal positioning.
• Black Sheep Coffee: Specialty UK coffee chain with a strong loyalty app, own-roast beans, and rapid UK rollout. Closely comparable to iCafe in concept (specialty coffee + own brand + digital loyalty) though at a much faster expansion pace.
• Caffè Nero: Founded-origin UK coffee chain with a sit-in cafe model, own coffee roasting, and a strong rewards program — closely mirroring iCafe's blend of cafe, loyalty, and own-roast product. Highly comparable in operating concept, smaller-than-Costa scale.
• Joe & The Juice: International coffee and juice cafe chain with a strong loyalty app, urban city-centre locations, and a branded retail product line. Comparable to iCafe on cafe-plus-app-plus-retail product layering.

Broad incumbents

• Starbucks UK: Global coffee chain with a substantial UK store estate, mobile ordering, and a sophisticated loyalty program. Overlaps with iCafe across all major product and digital capabilities, but as a much larger incumbent rather than a regional specialist.

Others

• Greggs: UK high-street food-on-the-go retailer with thousands of locations. Not a direct competitor (predominantly takeaway, no sit-in cafe) but relevant on UK consumer foodservice scale, central-kitchen supply, and own-brand retail products that could intersect with iCafe's iCafe at Home range.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/icafeuk
• Xx.com/icafeuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/icafeuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icafeuk

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about iCafe