Paul

About Paul

Founded in 1889, Paul is a French chain of bakery-cafe restaurants present in 47 countries, with the head office in Lille. It specialises in serving French products including breads, crepes, sandwiches, macaroons, soups, cakes, pastries, coffee, wine and beer. It is owned by Groupe Holder, which also owned the French luxury pâtisserie Laudree from 2002 to 2021. As of 2022, there are more than 750 Paul bakery/café restaurants, of which 424 are in France and more than 300 in 46 other countries. The first bakery outside France was opened in 1985, in Barcelona, and the first international franchise started in 1989, in Nagoya, Japan. It has had a presence in the UK since 2000 and now has circa 36 sites here, mainly in London. In November 2022, Paul made its UK franchise debut when Graham and Matthew Allan took over the running of its store in Oxford. The company said at the time that it is aiming for a 100-site UK estate, with 50% of it franchised. Chief executive Mark Hilton told Propel. “We believe Graham and Matt will become really strong and successful partners over the coming years and are looking to build a pipeline of similarly like-minded, passionate and capable individuals to continue to grow the Paul brand across the UK. We think Graham and Matt taking on the stores in Oxford will be a first step in the brand’s expansion outside the capital. While their initial focus is to get fully up to speed with the business in Oxford, they are already looking to build a pipeline of new locations within their agreed geographic region, and we would expect them to open their first new store in 2023. We are also in discussions with other interested individuals and groups and look forward to welcoming new franchise partners into the Paul family over the coming 12-24 months.” In July 2023, Paul said it plans to upgrade a third of its 36-strong UK estate to its Le Café concept, which has already proved successful in other countries. In May 2024, Paul added to its regional UK estate with an opening in Reading. In November 2024, Paul signed a franchise deal with Pizza Hut and PF Chang’s franchisee Zaf Holdings, owned by Arif Jivraj, to open ten stores over the next five years, bringing the brand to key locations in the south east of England. Paul chief executive Julia Powell said: “Arif and his team’s experience and knowledge will ensure the brand’s credentials and quality are maintained as we bring Paul to a wider customer base as stores are developed across the south east.” Jivraj added: “We believe that with our expertise of operational excellence and Paul’s authentic and timeless brand we can provide the wand to the magic of Paul.” In 2024, the business closed its Covent Garden store - the first Paul store to open in the UK 25 years ago - as a result of not being able to secure a “sensible negotiation with the landlord to renew the lease”, and has also since exited its site in Tower 42 in the City. In September 2025, the company said: “With the ever-increasing costs, maximising the sales opportunity is critical, and engaging with customers to encourage repeat visits and higher average ticket values is of growing importance. This supports the development of an eat-in brunch range that initially was introduced into four stores but is now being rolled out more widely. The success of this has encouraged the company to undertake further work on its eat-in offer.”

Why franchise with Paul

• ✓The Paul franchise programme includes the use of the brand name, business model, raw materials specifications, products, production methods, recipes, operational standards and procedures, sales methods and store design. The company will provide support with site selection, store layout and design; production methods and recipes; presentation techniques; customer service support and sales methods; training programmes; new store opening support; operations manuals including standards, policies and procedures; ongoing operational and business support; marketing campaigns; promotions and local store marketing support; and CSR campaigns. All franchise partners also participate in a comprehensive training programme. For geographic territories, Paul is actively looking for franchise partners willing to open at least 20 stores over the upcoming years and have the infrastructure, capacity and motivation to do so. Should you have a specific business location in mind, it can explore various options that may work for your business. Total cost of investment can vary considerably, dependent upon the set-up costs of each store, and these will be discussed further upon enquiry. Paul UK charges an upfront fee per store, as well as ongoing fees in consideration of the support franchisees will receive, which will again be discussed further upon enquiry. However, franchise fees start at £25,000.