The state of hospitality franchising 2026
Key data on investment, unit economics and the fastest-growing formats across the UK hospitality sector this year.
UK hospitality franchising entered 2026 with more capital chasing fewer proven formats than at any point since 2019. This report sets out where that capital is going, what it is buying, and which formats are actually returning on it.
Investment levels have polarised. The volume of enquiries sits at the two ends of the range: compact coffee and dessert formats under £100k, and multi-unit development agreements above £250k. The middle of the market has thinned.
Unit economics remain the pressure point. Labour and energy have settled at a higher base than pre-2022, and the formats growing fastest are the ones that took cost out of the model structurally rather than trimming it.
Delivery is now a channel rather than a strategy. The brands performing best treat it as incremental volume on an already-viable site, not as the reason the site exists.
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