Co-founder and chief executive of Hotel Chocolat Angus Thirlwell said the retailer would open five or six stores next week as takeaway cafes, as part of a trial phased reopening of its estate.

Thirlwell said the locations would be predominantly in London and other “thriving communities”, and would have a limited offering of products, such as ice creams and milkshakes.

“We’ll open some stores as takeaway cafes, not chocolate shops. We’re opening up five or six locations next week to get a read on how our planned safe way of working actually performs in real life,” he said.