AI could be picking your coffee as startup takes £2m Retail An AI-powered coffee vending machine which tells its users when and what it might like to drink is set to spring up in forecourts, gyms and campuses across the country. Unity Coffee, which uses AI to offer tailored discounts based on the time and user behaviour, has completed a £2m fundraising and aims to “disrupt” [...]
Matcha mayhem: Blank Street eyes $100m expansion Retail Blank Street coffee is reportedly in early talks to raise at least $100m in new funding as it eyes further expansion. The cafe chain, which has more than 50 shops in the UK, is known for its matcha drinks and has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2020. The business operates dozens of locations [...]
Green is good: How has Blank Street taken over London? Retail Given the ubiquity of Blank Street’s pastel green branding across the capital, it is almost surprising to think the New York-based company only opened its first London shop in the summer of 2022. In fact, it only opened its very first shop in Williamsburg in 2021, after spending nearly a year housed in a Brooklyn [...]
Lavazza: Profit doubles amid ‘unprecedented’ price rises September 22, 2025 Profit at coffee brand Lavazza doubled in the UK during its latest financial year as it battled “intense pressure” on its supply chain and “unprecedented” price rises. The Uxbridge-headquartered division has posted a pre-tax profit of £3.2m for 2024, up from the £1.5m it achieved in 2023. New accounts filed with Companies House also show [...]
Pret A Manger ‘being punished for focusing on UK’ September 15, 2025 Pret A Manger is being punished for focusing on the UK and this is a “disaster for domestic growth”, according to the chief executive of drinking chocolate chain Knoops. Writing on LinkedIn, William Gordon-Harris said “the sad fact is for UK domestic growth is that so many UK founded businesses focus their growth after launch [...]
Nespresso cuts over 200 UK jobs amid store closures September 2, 2025 The UK arm of coffee giant Nespresso shed more than 200 jobs as it shut locations across the country in 2024, it has been confirmed. The business reduced its headcount from 716 to 499 during its latest financial year as it closed 11 of its sites. In new accounts filed with Companies House for 2024, [...]
Starbucks: UK’s largest franchise more than doubles profit ahead of takeover April 28, 2025 Sales jumped towards £100m and profit more than doubled at the UK’s largest Starbucks franchise in the year before the US coffee chain took it over, it has been revealed. 23.5 Degrees has reported a turnover of £93m for the 12 months to 31 August, 2024, up from the £83.5m it achieved in the prior [...]
Gary Neville signs deal with cult London coffee brand Grind March 10, 2025 Cult coffee brand Grind is to open its first base outside London after signing a deal with Gary Neville to take space at his landmark city centre development in Manchester. Grind has agreed to take over 3,000 sq ft at No.1 St Michael’s scheme which is being led by Neville’s Relentless Developments. Grind joins the [...]
Caffè Nero brews record sales success February 4, 2025 The group behind coffee house Caffè Nero has revealed a sharp increase in sales for the first half of its current financial year. The Nero Group has posted sales of £310m for the six months to the end of November 2024, a new record. The total represents an eight per cent like-for-like rise and 13.6 [...]
Buy something, or get out: How coffee shops are clamping down on WFH loiterers January 14, 2025 As RTO mandates rise, there’s another factor which may start driving digital nomads back to the office: coffee shops are throwing them out.