Franchise
Roasted by us. Run by you.
RAND has been serving coffee since 2010, now operates three locations, and roasts its own coffee in-house. We’re opening RAND to franchisees who want to run one properly. This page sets out the opportunity, the investment and what’s included, and how to start an enquiry.
An initial enquiry, not an application. Nothing is committed on either side.
No 01 · Why
Why we’re opening the door.
RAND has been serving coffee in Leeds since 2010, and roasting its own beans since 2020. We run three shops now: Roundhay, the university, and the city centre, each pouring coffee roasted a few days earlier at our own roastery.
We’ve had the same conversation enough times to take it seriously. People walk into one of our shops and ask whether they could run one. Until now the answer has been no, because we hadn’t built the thing that would let someone else do it well.
Now we have. This page is where that conversation starts.
No 02 · The offer
What you’d actually be getting.
Coffee from our roastery
Every bag comes from our own roastery in Leeds. You don’t source it, you don’t blend it, and you don’t guess at freshness. It arrives roasted days before it’s poured, the way it does in our own shops.
A shop we already run
This isn’t a concept to be tested. We run three of these shops ourselves, and you’d be opening one we know how to run.
Training from the people who built it
Our roaster and our shop teams train yours. Coffee, kit, service, the standard. Not just a manual: actual time with the people doing it.
A brand people already know here
RAND is a Leeds name with a Leeds reputation. You’d be opening a shop customers already recognise, not explaining a new one.
What your franchise fee includes
Your franchise fee gives you access to the RAND brand and operating system, plus support to prepare for opening. This includes:
- Brand and system
- The RAND brand licence and access to our operating system.
- Site review
- A site brief and review of suitable locations before commitment.
- Standards
- Design, equipment and signage standards for your café.
- Training
- Initial training for the owner-operator and a defined number of team members.
- Opening
- An opening plan and launch support.
- Operations
- Operations manual, recipes and systems setup.
Your ongoing royalty supports continued operational guidance, standards, systems updates and access to the RAND brand. Our central marketing levy funds RAND’s brand marketing, creative assets and managed social activity.
No 03 · Where
Where we’re looking.
Our initial focus is Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. We also welcome enquiries for strong opportunities anywhere in the UK, subject to site review and approval.
- Leeds
- Manchester
- Sheffield
- York
- Harrogate
You will source potential premises using our site brief. We will review suitable opportunities and must approve your chosen site before you commit. Your business will secure the lease with independent property and legal advice. Franchisees will use RAND-approved systems and suppliers for core brand and operating requirements, including RAND coffee, branded signage and EPOS.
No 04 · Who
Who this is for.
We don’t have a checklist yet, and we’re deliberately not writing one before we’ve met people. But the shape of it is fairly simple.
- Someone who’ll be in the shop.
- This isn’t a passive investment. The shops that work are the ones with an owner behind the counter, at least at the start.
- Someone who cares about the coffee.
- You don’t need to be a roaster or a competition barista. You do need to actually mind whether the espresso is good.
- Someone who can fund it and see it through.
- Opening a shop is a journey, not a season. We’re looking for people who are fully committed to it and have the capital to see it through. We’ll be straightforward with you about what’s involved, and we’d ask you to be straightforward with us about where you stand.
No 05 · Investment
What you’d be investing.
- Indicative total investment
- £230,000–£350,000, excluding recoverable VAT.
- Minimum personal funds
- £100,000.
- Franchise fee
- £20,000 + VAT.
- Ongoing royalty
- 5% of sales excluding VAT.
- Central marketing levy
- 1.5% of sales excluding VAT.
The total investment includes the franchise fee, fit-out, equipment, furniture, signage, professional fees, opening costs, contingency and initial working capital. Your final budget will depend on the size, condition and location of the premises.
The estimate excludes recoverable VAT, buying a property, the cost of taking over an existing business, and major structural building works. We will provide site-specific financial projections only after an initial conversation and review of the proposed opportunity.
No 06 · Next
What happens next.
Submit your franchise enquiry.
We review your experience, ambitions, location and financial fit.
We arrange an initial conversation to explore the opportunity.
If there is a mutual fit, we share the next-stage information and discuss suitable locations.
Start your enquiry
Tell us about you.
This is an initial enquiry, not a formal application. Tell us a little about yourself and where you’d like to open, and we’ll come back to you.
The honest bit
Questions we can’t fully answer yet.
What does it cost?
The indicative figures are in the investment section above: total investment, minimum personal funds, the franchise fee, the ongoing royalty and the central marketing levy. We will provide site-specific financial projections only after an initial conversation and review of the proposed opportunity.
Do I need to have run a coffee shop before?
No. It helps, and it’ll be part of the conversation, but it isn’t a requirement we’ve set.
Who finds the premises?
You do, using our site brief. We review suitable opportunities and must approve your chosen site before you commit. Your business secures the lease with independent property and legal advice.
Can I convert my existing café to a RAND?
Possibly. It’s one of the routes we’re open to. Tell us about it in the form.
I’m not in Yorkshire or Greater Manchester. Is there any point enquiring?
Yes. Those two regions are our initial focus, but we welcome enquiries for strong opportunities anywhere in the UK, subject to site review and approval.
Is this an application?
No. It’s an initial enquiry, not a formal application. Nothing is committed on either side and there’s no fee to enquire. If there is a mutual fit, we share the next-stage information.
Still roasting daily in Leeds. Now looking for the people who’ll pour it somewhere else.
Start your franchise enquiry →