Encore Kitchens

What Encore Kitchens does

Encore Kitchens, trading under Encore Spaces Limited (company number 15810949) and headquartered at 20-22 Vestry Street, London, operates the UK's largest network of dark kitchens — commercial kitchen facilities purpose-built for food delivery-only operations with no dine-in area. The platform comprises 550+ fitted kitchens across 25+ UK sites spanning London (18 sites), Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds. Each unit is delivered as a turnkey production space: stainless-steel workbenches, canopy and HVAC extraction, three-phase power, gas supply, walk-in cold storage, and grease traps are pre-installed, enabling tenants to begin trading within 2-3 weeks of signing versus 12-16 weeks and £1m+ for an independent fit-out. Managed facility services consolidate approximately 20 separate contracts (pest control, waste, business rates, energy, fire strategy, CCTV, EHO facilitation, cleaning) into a single monthly fee.

The product portfolio extends beyond core delivery kitchens into Central Production Units (500-6,000 sqft facilities for multi-brand batch production), Encore Storage (250-6,000 sqft warehouse and distribution units), Day Rate Kitchens (£150-£250/day short-term hire), Studio Kitchens (hourly/half-day rental for content creators), and a Product Sampling service that has reportedly distributed 900,000+ samples through 300+ brand partners. Pricing is publicly disclosed and segmented by geography: Greater London from £2,750+VAT/month, Central London £3,250+VAT/month, Regional Cities £2,200+VAT/month, on monthly subscriptions with a minimum 12-month term.

Encore targets delivery-first food brands, virtual restaurant operators, and multi-brand restaurant groups, with enterprise logos including Wingstop (14 dark kitchens, 30% of UK orders from delivery, 43 UK restaurants), Popeyes, Burger King, Haidilao, and Byron alongside startup tenants such as Bronson's Burgers and Matteo's Cucina Italiana. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales (account managers handle Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat platform relationships on tenants' behalf) with self-serve day-rate booking and SEO/content marketing through an Insights blog and Instagram. The legal entity is privately held with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or institutional investors identified in available filings.

Name

Encore Kitchens

Legal name

Encore Spaces Limited

Website

https://encorekitchens.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Encore Kitchens operates the UK's largest dark kitchen network with 550+ fitted commercial kitchens across 25 UK locations, renting turnkey production-ready spaces to delivery-first food brands, enterprise QSR chains, and multi-brand operators on monthly memberships with no revenue share.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Kitchen Rental

NAICS

Food Service Contractors (72231), Food Service Contractors (722310)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Equipment Rental & Leasing (7350), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Brand Cloud Kitchen Operators (THAFAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

CPO (Central Production/Commissary) + Satellite Ghost Kitchens (THAFAJAH), Delivery-Only Restaurant Brands (No Dine-In) (THAFAJAC)

Keywords

• Commercial kitchen rental
• Dark kitchen operator
• Ghost kitchen services
• Food delivery infrastructure
• Kitchen space leasing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Kitchen Space Rental (Membership Model): Monthly flat-fee membership for access to fully fitted commercial kitchen spaces. Pricing varies by location tier (Greater London, Central London, Regional Cities). Includes utilities, business rates, pest control, wifi, and maintenance under a single transparent fee with no revenue share.
2. Day Rate Kitchen Hire: Pay-as-you-go rental of fully equipped commercial kitchens for events, catering contracts, or one-off development projects. Includes utilities and waste in daily rate.
3. Studio Kitchen Hire: Hourly, half-day, and full-day rental of domestic kitchen studio for food content creation, photography, podcast recording, and tasting sessions.
4. Storage and Distribution Unit Rental: Flexible rental of warehouse spaces for storage, distribution facilities, and packing operations ranging from 100sqf to 2000sqf.
5. Product Sampling Services: Sampling partnership program placing brand samples into delivery orders through the network of 300+ kitchen partners, generating additional revenue from food brands seeking consumer trial.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Encore Kitchens operates the UK's largest network of fully fitted commercial kitchens available for rent by food delivery brands, restaurant operators, caterers, and content creators. The portfolio includes delivery-only (dark/ghost) kitchens on monthly membership, central production units for multi-brand operators, day-rate kitchens for short-term hire, studio kitchens for content creation, and storage and distribution facilities across 25+ UK locations. Managed facility services consolidate approximately 20 supplier contracts into a single membership relationship.

Product overview

Encore Kitchens is a commercial kitchen rental platform operating a network of 550+ kitchens across 25+ UK locations in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds. The portfolio consists of five distinct kitchen product lines—Delivery Kitchens (dark/ghost kitchens for food delivery brands), Central Production Units (large-scale multi-brand production facilities), Distribution Centres, Day Rate Kitchens (temporary hire), and Studio Kitchens (for content creators)—supplemented by Storage services and a Product Sampling offering. All spaces are fully fitted with commercial equipment and offered on flexible licence terms, consolidating 20+ operational services (utilities, pest control, waste management, compliance) into a single membership fee. The platform primarily serves delivery-first food brands, virtual restaurant operators, and multi-brand restaurant groups seeking to scale without traditional restaurant overhead.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Delivery-Only Kitchens (Dark Kitchens / Ghost Kitchens) Fully equipped commercial kitchen spaces designed exclusively for food delivery operations with no dine-in area. Includes canopy and HVAC, three-phase sockets, waste management, grease trap, and cold/dry storage. Pricing from £2,200 to £3,250 + VAT per month depending on location tier.
• Central Production Unit (CPU) Large-scale production facilities (500sqf to 6,000sqf) for cooking, preparing, and dispatching food across multiple delivery or retail outlets, tailored for multi-brand operators. Available across 12 UK locations.
• Distribution Centre Distribution facilities designed for wholesalers and online distributors enabling last-mile delivery operations. Available across Central London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds.
• Studio Kitchen Professional kitchen studio for content creators, food photography, filming, podcast recording, and tasting sessions. Features a fully equipped domestic kitchen with island, cooker, sink, fridge/freezer, and wooden countertops. Pricing from £125/hour to £750/full day.
• Day Rate Kitchen Fully equipped commercial kitchen available for daily rental with no lock-in period. Suitable for events, catering contracts, or product development. Locations in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. Pricing ranges from £150 to £250 per day depending on location and duration.
• Encore Storage Flexible warehouse space including storage centres, distribution facilities, and cold storage. Sizes from 250sqf to 6,000sqf with packing facilities and secure storage options across multiple Central London and regional locations.
• Product Sampling Product sampling service powered by delivery, placing brand samples into verified food orders from restaurant partners. Supports 300+ brand partners across 15+ cuisine types with reported 900,000+ samples distributed and audience profiling and engagement reporting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% lower upfront costs (£30k vs £1m+ for independent fit-out)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DeliveroocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPrimary delivery platform partner for tenant brands. Encore's kitchens are platform-optimized and account managers help manage tenant relationships with Deliveroo. Wingstop achieved top 10 most-loved brand status on Deliveroo through dark kitchen operations.
• Uber EatscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPrimary delivery platform partner enabling tenant brands to reach customers through Uber Eats platform. Kitchens positioned for efficient delivery dispatch operations.
• Just EatcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPrimary delivery platform partner connecting tenant brands with Just Eat's UK consumer base. Platform relationships managed by Encore account managers on behalf of tenants.
• HeinzminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProduct sampling partnership placing Heinz samples in delivery orders. Campaign distributed over 100,000 samples through 35 delivery partners, driving trial and repeat orders for tenant brands.
• XerominorOthersAccounting platform used by Encore Kitchens for financial details and invoicing. Service provider relationship mentioned in privacy policy.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Relay: US ghost kitchen operator with shared commercial kitchen rental and delivery-optimised sites. Comparable subscription-based fitted kitchen rental model.
• Kitchen United: US-based multi-brand cloud kitchen operator with a mix-and-match delivery model. Comparable product offering (fitted shared kitchens) but operating in North America.
• REEF Technology: Large-scale US ghost kitchen and logistics hub operator converting urban parking infrastructure into delivery kitchens. Comparable asset-heavy delivery-kitchen model.
• Karma Kitchen: UK-based dark kitchen operator providing fitted commercial kitchen space for delivery-first food brands. Closest UK head-to-head competitor to Encore.
• CloudKitchens: Travis Kalanick-founded ghost kitchen infrastructure operator with global reach, including UK sites. Directly comparable as a multi-location delivery-only kitchen landlord serving food brands.
• FoodStars: UK dark kitchen operator running delivery-only commercial kitchens for restaurant brands. Comparable multi-site fitted kitchen rental model.
• Deliveroo Editions: Deliveroo's in-house ghost kitchen network operating dedicated delivery-only kitchens across UK cities. Vertically integrated competitor offering the same delivery-only kitchen proposition.

Emerging players

• Nextbite: US operator of virtual restaurant brands operating out of third-party dark kitchens. Adjacent business model — Encore is a real estate layer, Nextbite a brand operator layer over similar infrastructure.
• City Pantry: UK corporate catering marketplace that brokers kitchen and catering services to businesses. Comparable UK catering infrastructure angle but focused on corporate delivery rather than dark-kitchen rentals.

Others

• Otter: Restaurant operations platform consolidating delivery orders, menus, and analytics across delivery platforms. Adjacent infrastructure layer serving the same delivery-first restaurants that Encore houses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/105391928

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 Encore Kitchens