INCENTIVES and advice from Bradford Council encouraged a North West entrepreneur to diversify his business interests with a new coffee shop in the city centre.

Mohammad Arshan is opening Esquires Coffee in the Xchange development on the corner of Charles Street and Broadway, on Tuesday. The new venture, serving organic and fairtrade coffees, has created 14 jobs.

Mr Arshan, who operates two petrol stations in the Greater Manchester area, has taken on the Esquires franchise after identifying coffee shops as a growth area. He plans to have five outlets within a year.

He has received recruitment and marketing support from Bradford Council and has also qualified for employment-based rate relief until March 2018.

Mr Arshan said: “The council has been very supportive, particularly as the rent and overheads are high for this site.

“I believe the coffee business is a growth sector through which to diversify my business interests and hope to open around five outlets in West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester over the next 12 months.

“The location of the Bradford cafe is excellent, close to the Broadway shopping centre and we expect a good level of footfall.

“I also believe that there is a strong demand for organic and fairtrade products which is the backbone of the Esquires business and sets it apart from mother leading chains.”

A Esquires Coffee spokesman said the firm had been attracted to Bradford by the level of new city centre development and growth prospects in the retail and leisure sector.

Around £300,000 has been invested on the new Bradford coffee shop

She said: “We identified Bradford as a good opportunity with growth potential as the city centre is benefitting from a high level of investment and development.

“Our stores benefit from a modern, bespoke design which caters to the needs of today’s coffee drinker; as well as maximising the space for profitability.

“We also carry out full training with our franchise owners and their staff so that they are ready to serve our fairtrade and organic coffee when their store opens. “

Esquires was founded in Canada in 1993 and expanded to the UK in 1999. It is investing around £46 million on expansion and plans to have 200 UK outlets within the next four years, creating around 2,000 jobs.

Global expansion has also seen Esquires cafes open in the Middle East, Asia, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.

Esquires is owned by New Zealand-based Cooks Global Foods.