PUBS, shops, banks, petrol stations have all been declining in number rapidly since the turn of the century but one for of outlet has gone from strength to strength.

Coffee is now king of the high street.

Britain seems to have an insatiable thirst for cappuccinos, lattes and flat whites and one man riding the crest of this brown frothy wave is Hampshire businessman Robin Arkle.

Robin, 53, has just opened his 50th Costa coffee franchise – in Ilfracombe in Devon – making him the second biggest franchisee in the Costa empire.

He and his partner Andy Hirst run Premier Coffee and its sister company Jurassic Coast Coffee from above Costa in High Street, Southampton.

They have shops In Hampshire Dorset, Devon, Wiltshire and Sussex and employ 600 people and the company has an annual turnover of £22 million..

The pair are old hands at franchising having worked on the other side of the fence as as franchisors for Pappa John's Pizza and McDonalds.

When Costa Coffee, owned by Whitbread, decided they would start to franchise parts of the business, Robin became the first franchisee, taking on Costa in Fleet in 2004.

At that time Whitbread had 300 Costa outlets – there are now 2,000, half of which are run by franchisees.

The average Briton can't go without his daily hit of caffeine and he or she now prefers it in coffee form rather than tea – often drunk on the move – we consume 70 million cups a day.

There are now more than 4,300 coffee outlets in the UK – 20 times more than there were in 1998, according to figures produced last year by real estate giants CBRE.

Costa have recently invested £40m in a new roasting plant to meet the demand for beans.

But how long before the market becomes saturated?

Robin says that Costa's market analysts believe there is room for another 400 to 500 shops in the UK and he is keen for some of those to be run by Premier and has plans for another seven openings this year.

He says the franchise model has helped Costa expand more quickly and gives the franchisee a ready-made business plan to work from. It obviously works as Costa has become the biggest coffee chain in the UK and their rival Starbucks has now adopted the franchise model.

Robin believes the rise of coffee can be directly linked the disappearance of pubs. Indeed three of Premier's outlets are in former pubs.

"Coffee shops have grown at the same rate that pubs have closed," said Robin. "They are replacing the pub as a place for people to meet.

"The smoking ban has had a huge impact on pubs, especially if they don't have an outside smoking area. Most of our outlets have external seating areas.

"Coffee shops also appeal to women in the way that pubs never have. They see them as a safe environment."

As the business has grown Premier has opened two training centres for staff - one in Southampton HQ and a second, more recently,in Tiverton, Devon.

As well as being the first franchisee Premier has another two firsts to its name. The first Costa in a leisure centre, at the Rapids in Romsey, and the first roadside outlet at Antelope Park on the outskirts of Hampshire.