The Magic Bean Company
The Magic Bean Company is a privately held Swansea-based Starbucks licensee operating drive-thru and walk-in Starbucks coffee shops across England and Wales, and is Starbucks' only national growth partner in those regions. It serves general consumers and EV owners through co-located coffee-and-charging hubs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersSwansea, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Magic Bean Company does
The Magic Bean Company is a privately held UK Starbucks licensee, headquartered in Swansea, Wales, that operates a network of Starbucks-branded coffee shops across England and Wales under a licensing arrangement with Starbucks Coffee Company Ltd. Founded in March 2014, it became the first licensee to open a Starbucks Drive Thru in the UK and has since been positioned by Starbucks as its only national growth partner covering England and Wales, operating both drive-thru formats (typically 1500-1800 sq.ft. on 0.5+ acre sites in retail parks, arterial routes, and industrial estates) and walk-in locations in shopping centres and town centres.
The company's core product is the Starbucks in-store experience, executed under brand, recipe, and design standards set centrally by Starbucks. It has layered a differentiated physical format around the license by co-locating drive-thru stores with EV charging infrastructure through partnerships with Gridserve, Osprey Charging, MFG, GCE, and Tesla Supercharger, creating a 'green EV Starbucks' platform that combines coffee retail with EV amenities. Customer segments are split between general consumers (primary) and EV owners (secondary), served through physical storefronts only with no app or e-commerce channel.
The business is a pure retailer of coffee beverages and food, with revenue generated at the point of sale under standard Starbucks menu pricing. The company employs 73 people across store operations, district and central management, business development, and acquisitions. It is led by CEO Leon Esfahani (prior experience with Subway, Pizza Hut, O2, and Denny's), supported by a Finance Director and a dedicated acquisitions and property team. There is no evidence of institutional investors, parent ownership, or AI/technology platform investments; growth has been funded and operated on a privately held, founder-led basis.
The Magic Bean Company firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Magic Bean Company
- Legal name
- The Magic Bean Company
- Website
- https://magicbeancompany.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- The Magic Bean Company is a privately held Swansea-based Starbucks licensee operating drive-thru and walk-in Starbucks coffee shops across England and Wales, and is Starbucks' only national growth partner in those regions. It serves general consumers and EV owners through co-located coffee-and-charging hubs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Magic Bean Company industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Coffee Shop Operations
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Drive-Thru Coffee Stands & Coffee Kiosks (THAFADAK)
Keywords
Where The Magic Bean Company is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Swansea
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Magic Bean Company business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Starbucks Store Operations: Operating Starbucks licensed coffee shops (drive-thru and non-drive-thru) across England and Wales. Revenue generated from coffee and food sales to consumers at retail storefront locations.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
The Magic Bean Company product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Magic Bean Company operates a network of licensed Starbucks-branded coffee shops across England and Wales, including both drive-thru and walk-in formats situated in high-traffic retail parks, arterial routes, and industrial estates. It also partners with major UK EV charge point operators to provide co-located electric vehicle charging facilities at selected store sites.
Product overview
The Magic Bean Company operates as Starbucks' only national growth partner covering England and Wales, offering a network of drive-thru and non-drive-thru coffee shops. Their core offering is Starbucks Drive Thru Coffee Shops, with locations ranging from 1500-1800 sq.ft. on sites requiring 0.5+ acres. The company has developed a green electric vehicle Starbucks platform, integrating EV charging facilities at their locations through partnerships with Gridserve, Osprey Charging, MFG, GCE, and Tesla Supercharger. They also provide career opportunities at multiple levels including Barista, Shift Supervisor, Store Manager, and District Manager roles.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Starbucks Drive Thru Coffee Shops Licensed Starbucks-branded drive-thru coffee shops (typically 1,500–1,800 sq.ft. on 0.5+ acre sites) located in retail parks, main arterial routes, and industrial estates across England and Wales, serving coffee beverages and food products to individual consumers.
- Starbucks Walk-in Coffee Shops Licensed Starbucks-branded walk-in coffee shops located in shopping centres, retail parks, and town centres across England and Wales, offering beverages and food to individual consumers in a sit-down community setting.
- EV Charging Hub Facilities Electric vehicle charging facilities co-located at selected drive-thru and walk-in Starbucks locations, offered in partnership with multiple EV charge point operators to enable EV owners to charge vehicles while consuming Starbucks beverages and food.
Quantifiable outcome
- 10 consecutive years of growth since 2014
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Magic Bean Company
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Magic Bean Company technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Magic Bean Company partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- GridservecoreEV charging operator partner for the UK's largest EV hub network with Starbucks coffee facilities. Gridserve operates electric vehicle charging infrastructure at selected Starbucks locations.
- Osprey ChargingcoreEV charging operator partner contributing to the goal of delivering the UK's largest EV hub network with Starbucks coffee facilities.
- MFG (Motor Fuel Group)coreEV charging operator partner working towards the goal of delivering the UK's largest EV hub network with Starbucks coffee facilities.
- GCE (Generic Charging Equipment)coreEV charging operator partner contributing to the development of EV hub network with Starbucks coffee facilities.
- Tesla SuperchargercoreEV charging operator partner working towards the goal of delivering the UK's largest EV hub network with Starbucks coffee facilities.
- Starbucks Coffee Company LtdcoreLicensing partner for Starbucks brand operations. The Magic Bean Company is Starbucks' only national growth partner covering England and Wales, developing green electric vehicle Starbucks platform and all store designs are created by Starbucks.
- Robert Hitchins LimitedminorProperty developer working with The Magic Bean Company on the Drive Thru development at Kingsway, Gloucester (Quedgeley project). Partnered with Michael Plimmer at the company for replacing derelict building at the entrance to the Kingsway scheme.
- Colin Ellis PropertyminorProperty agent for Scarborough store acquisition. Georgia McCarron and Hannah Morgan worked with Wai Kong Yau at Colin Ellis Property for the Scarborough store opening.
- b3 Shopfitting LtdminorShopfitting contractor responsible for the execution and fit-out of the Scarborough Starbucks store.
- Trojan GroupminorContractor group working on the Grantham A1 drive-thru store fit-out.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Magic Bean Company competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tim Hortons UK: International coffee chain operating UK drive-thru and walk-in stores with comparable format (drive-thru-led expansion) and product mix, making it a relevant direct competitor.
- Costa Coffee: UK's largest coffee chain, competing head-to-head with Magic Bean's licensed Starbucks stores on menu, locations, and consumer occasions; useful comparable for unit economics and category dynamics.
- Caffè Nero: UK specialty coffee chain with similar café footprint, target customer, and product mix, providing a benchmark for premium coffee chain economics in the same geography.
- 23.5 Degrees: UK Starbucks licensee operating Starbucks-branded stores, including drive-thru locations, providing a directly comparable business model, scale, and revenue structure to Magic Bean.
Others
- BP pulse: UK EV charging operator comparable to Magic Bean's partners (Gridserve, Osprey, MFG); relevant peer for the EV-charging-plus-amenity hub model Magic Bean is helping to build.
Broad incumbents
- Pret a Manger: Established UK foodservice chain with coffee-led daily occasions; broader incumbent offering overlap on café traffic, beverage programs, and real-estate footprint.
- Greggs: UK high-street foodservice incumbent with a comparable multi-site, high-traffic retail-park footprint and focus on standardized daily-occasion food and beverage offerings.
- Starbucks UK: Corporate parent brand of the licensed stores Magic Bean operates; useful comparable for system-level UK store economics and the strategic direction shaping Magic Bean's growth runway.
- McDonald's UK: UK drive-thru QSR incumbent operating hundreds of drive-thru sites across England and Wales, providing a benchmark for drive-thru site selection, real estate, and high-traffic format economics.
Emerging players
- Gail's Bakery: Fast-growing UK café-bakery chain with overlapping coffee program and high-street/site-selection strategy; useful emerging comparable for UK premium coffee-bakery unit growth.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Magic Bean Company social profiles
Digital presenceThe Magic Bean Company financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Magic Bean Company leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
The Magic Bean Company funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Magic Bean Company M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Magic Bean Company
What does The Magic Bean Company do?
The Magic Bean Company operates a network of licensed Starbucks-branded coffee shops across England and Wales, including both drive-thru and walk-in formats situated in high-traffic retail parks, arterial routes, and industrial estates. It also partners with major UK EV charge point operators to provide co-located electric vehicle charging facilities at selected store sites.
Is The Magic Bean Company a public or private company?
The Magic Bean Company is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Magic Bean Company founded?
The Magic Bean Company was founded in 2014. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is The Magic Bean Company based?
The Magic Bean Company is headquartered in Swansea, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Magic Bean Company make money?
One revenue line is on record: starbucks Store Operations.
Who are The Magic Bean Company's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tim Hortons UK, Costa Coffee, Caffè Nero and 23.5 Degrees. BP pulse is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Pret a Manger, Greggs, Starbucks UK and McDonald's UK. Gail's Bakery is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Magic Bean Company have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Magic Bean Company.
What industry is The Magic Bean Company in?
The Magic Bean Company's product category is Coffee Shop Operations. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAK, Drive-Thru Coffee Stands & Coffee Kiosks. Its SIC code is 5810.