New York’s Blank Street acquires Over Under's seven London stores

A Blank Street Coffee store on Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London | Photo credit: Blank Street Coffee

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Blank Street Coffee has acquired Over Under, a seven-strong café chain located in West London.

US coffee chain Blank Street Coffee launched its first stores in the UK in June 2022 as part of plans to make London its ‘second-biggest city’ after New York.

It currently operates seven sites in London following a recent opening at Notting Hill Gate, and has further sites slated to launch in Waterloo station and Monument.

The acquisition sees Blank Street take on Over Under’s seven London sites in Clapham, Earl’s Court, Gloucester Road, Ladbroke Grove, South Kensington, Wandsworth and West Brompton. Over Under also operates a coffee truck at Battersea Power Station, which it launched in August 2022.

All sites will continue trading as Over Under until individual rebrands have taken place. The first rebrand, at the South Kensington outlet, has already completed.

The two companies said the deal would combine Over Under's ‘in-depth knowledge and experience in the London coffee market with Blank Street's innovative approach to delivering quality coffee and a great customer experience’.

Ed Barry, who founded Over Under in 2017, will lead the integration of the two brands and remain a ‘key part of Blank Street going forward’.

“We had got to the stage where we needed to take the business to the next level, and with Blank Street's help we can do that. Myself and my teams can provide it with the knowledge and expertise of operating in the London coffee market, and it can aid us to take our company mission to the next level, creating greater value for our customers and providing exciting growth opportunities for our team,” he said.

Founded in 2020, Blank Street currently operates 40 mobile cart and cafés in New York and plans to expand to 150 locations globally by the end of 2022. In October 2021 the start-up secured $25m series A funding to scale its business model.