Tim Hortons UK returns to underlying EBITDA profit as sales rise 5%

By Olivia Hart

Tim Hortons UK & Ireland generated £76.5 million in revenue and £1.9 million in underlying EBITDA for the year to September 30, 2026, with EBITDA up 245% from the previous year. Comparable sales, or like-for-like growth at comparable locations, rose 5% in the 39 weeks to that date.

The result marked a return to underlying EBITDA profitability and an eighth consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth. Tim Hortons, a Canadian coffee brand, opened its first UK site in 2017 and has since grown to 63 sites.

The £1.9 million figure equals an underlying EBITDA margin of about 2.5% on reported revenue. Because EBITDA comes before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the result signals a return to operating profitability, not necessarily a return to bottom-line profit.

The 245% increase captures the scale of the turnaround, but the figures supplied do not break down cost of goods, labor costs or unit-level margins. They also do not identify the mix between company-operated and franchised sites.

Deepinder Batth, chief executive of Tim Hortons UK & Ireland, said:

“Achieving our eighth consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth, while returning to underlying EBITDA profitability, represents important progress for Tim Hortons in the UK and Ireland.

“This reflects the strength of our proposition and the team’s continued efforts to deliver the quality, convenience and value our customers expect.

“We continue to see a significant opportunity in the UK’s coffee and food market, where customers are looking for quality coffee and freshly prepared food at an affordable price point.

“Through continued investment in our people, menu innovation and operational improvements, we aim to build on this progress and realise the brand’s potential for sustainable, profitable growth over the long term.”

His comments put the operating mechanism in three areas: investment in people, menu innovation and operational improvements. The results do not identify a sourcing change, a specific menu launch or a price increase, so the sales gain cannot yet be assigned to procurement or repricing.

Management instead centers the proposition on quality coffee and freshly prepared food at an affordable price point, paired with convenience and value. That puts menu engineering and value architecture ahead of any premiumization claim, even though no product-level economics are disclosed.

Comparable growth came from both more orders and a higher average ticket value. The results do not quantify each contribution, so they do not show whether traffic, pricing or menu mix supplied most of the gain. That distinction matters because the release does not disclose how the additional volume affected staffing and ingredient costs.

Delivery like-for-like sales increased 11.9%, versus 8.9% growth in delivery transactions. The three-percentage-point gap indicates average delivery spend rose alongside order count, making delivery more than a pure volume story.

Delivery sales also outpaced the 5% group comparable-sales gain by 6.9 percentage points. That makes delivery the clearest identified sales engine in the results, although the figures give no platform mix, delivery fees or delivery-cost disclosure.

Tim Hortons also said UK & Ireland was delivering one of the highest average unit sales within the global business. The claim points to sales productivity per site, but the company provides no underlying unit-sales figure, peer set or store-count basis.

What does this change for Tim Hortons UK & Ireland?

Operationally, the business now combines an eighth-quarter growth streak, more orders, higher tickets and positive underlying EBITDA. Those are the immediate building blocks for expansion, and delivery’s 11.9% growth offers the clearest measurable route to additional revenue.

However, a roughly 2.5% margin, no company-operated versus franchised split and no site-level cost data limit the conclusion. The 63-site network has scaled since 2017, but the results do not establish whether each site contributes comparable profit.

Management sees a significant opportunity in the UK’s coffee and food market, where customers want quality coffee and freshly prepared food at an affordable price. Its stated next levers—people, menu innovation and operational improvement—must convert that demand into durable margin growth, not just higher revenue.

The forward test is whether continued investment in people, menu innovation and operations can sustain like-for-like growth, keep delivery ahead of system sales and widen the roughly 2.5% EBITDA margin while preserving the value proposition.