A Queensland-grown cafe empire is expanding its presence in the Middle East with The Coffee Club planning to open 100 new stores in the Persian Gulf within the next decade.
The group has signed a licensing agreement with Liwar Minor Food & Beverages, a joint venture between Al Nasser Holdings, an Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate with retail interests, and Minor Food Group, a Thai-based restaurant franchise whose parent company owns 50 per cent of The Coffee Club.
Under the deal, The Coffee Club will open cafes in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, by 2023.
"The GCC states represent huge growth potential for The Coffee Club brand and we are excited by the new partnership and look forward to the first store opening in the new year," The Coffee Club's chief executive Jason Ball said in a statement on Monday.
The Coffee Club owns 335 cafes in seven countries, including 267 in Australia.
It signed a deal in August to expand into Malaysia and plans to have a presence in 14 countries within the next decade.
The company, which started with a Brisbane city waterfront cafe in 1989, is Australia's biggest home-grown cafe chain.
Rival Gloria Jeans owns 1000 cafes in 39 countries, including 400 in Australia, but it originated in the United States in 1979.
Thai hotels group Minor International, which owns Minor Food Group, bought a 50 per cent stake in The Coffee Club Group in 2008.
The Coffee Club's Australian steak house subsidiary Ribs and Rumps operates in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates as well as Australia.
The Coffee Club's existing Middle East presence consists of three cafes in Egypt.
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