McCappuccino threat to pubs' coffee offering

The trade is not "lovin'" the prospect of McDonald's rolling out its McCafé coffee shops in the UK.

McDonald's is set to put more golden arches on UK high streets as it rolls out 1,200 McCafés across Europe by the end of the year.

Sam Pedder, head of food at Admiral Taverns, said: "I think it will affect different pubs in different ways — pubs that sells coffee, price-driven lunch pubs and late-night venues that offer snacks. But I think a pub is a very different proposition to a McCafé and the two perhaps offer the customer two different meal/drink occasions."

High-end coffee machines have already been installed at McDonald's in Europe

in an attempt to win over coffee drinkers.

Peter Backman, managing director of foodservice market analyst Horizons, said: "McCafé's emergence on UK soil would dent any plans the pub market may have to extend coffee sales too, in particular those offering, or planning to offer, morning coffee. If McCafé is brought in as stand-alone outlets the impact would be lessened, but if the concept is put within existing retail units then its impact would be more concerning as McDonald's could then add coffee to its meal deals, making it hard for other operators, particularly pubs, to compete on price."

David Pocock, manager of the Punch Tavern, in London's Fleet Street, said: "It will be another challenge — they will be cheap and fast. They will have lots of money to market their product, but I think pubs can offer a service that they can't. I think coffee drinkers like the environment around them.

"We may be hit for the 'grab a quick coffee' people, but the ones who want to sit and enjoy we will keep."