Danish bakery and coffee house brand Ole & Steen is set to open a new location at 141 Cheapside in St Paul’s, London, in the first week of November, taking its UK estate to 27 sites.
The new bakery will feature 32 indoor seats and eight outdoor covers, alongside Ole & Steen’s range of Danish-inspired breads, pastries, breakfast and lunch dishes, cakes and coffee. The St Paul’s site will also introduce a more streamlined service model, with two self-service kiosks and digital menu boards designed to support faster ordering.
The opening comes as Ole & Steen celebrates 10 years in the UK and 35 years since the brand was founded in Denmark. The company opened its first UK bakery in St James’s in 2016 and has since expanded its presence across London and the South East.
The St Paul’s opening follows a strong financial performance for the business. Ole & Steen recorded £40.2 million in turnover in 2025, an increase of £3.5 million year on year. Like-for-like sales rose 10.3%, while customer numbers increased 7.1%.
Ole & Steen Managing Director Graham Hollinshead said the company was continuing its growth journey following the increase in customer numbers and record turnover.
“We are really excited to continue our growth journey after the customer growth we saw in 2025, where more people choose our bakeries helping us deliver record turnover of more than £40 million,” Hollinshead said.
He added that the St Paul’s opening would be particularly significant as the business marks its 35th anniversary and a decade since entering the UK market.
Founded in Denmark in 1991, Ole & Steen operates as part of the wider Lagkagehuset business and has an international presence across Denmark, the UK and the US. The wider group has around 145 locations across the three markets, with the UK accounting for 26 sites before the St Paul’s opening.
The brand has also expanded its retail presence in the UK through partnerships with Waitrose and Ocado, making selected bakery products available beyond its own stores.
Despite its international footprint, Ole & Steen’s UK growth is currently company-led rather than franchise-led. The business operates its UK sites through its corporate structure rather than using a conventional franchise network. Its continued site openings therefore provide an example of how a bakery and coffee brand can scale internationally through direct investment in strategically located markets.
The company has been targeting further growth in London and locations around the M25, with its expansion strategy focused on building density in markets where the brand already has a presence.
The new St Paul’s bakery will strengthen Ole & Steen’s position in the City of London, combining its Danish bakery proposition with a format designed to cater to office workers, residents and visitors through both dine-in and faster self-service occasions.
