Caffè Nero muscles into booming high-protein drinks market Leisure Caffè Nero is looking to tap into the booming high-protein drinks market through a new deal with Manchester-based protein shake maker Myprotein. The coffee chain, which operates over 600 cafes across the UK, said two new high-protein lattes would be rolled out across its entire estate in partnership with the THG-owned fitness brand. Neil Mistry, [...]
WatchHouse CEO: Before I did coffee, I designed aquariums for billionaires Opinion Each week, we dig into the memory bank of the City's great and good. Today, WatchHouse CEO Roland Horne takes us through his eclectic career.
Costa Coffee hails ‘strong progress’ after Coca-Cola scraps sale Retail Costa Coffee has hailed a year of “strong progress” after owner Coca-Cola scrapped plans to sell it, with the coffee chain saying its refurbishment plan is paying off. The UK’s second-largest coffee chain grew revenue by five per cent to £1.3bn last year and returned to operating profit. Coca-Cola had been hoping to offload the [...]
Rosslyn Coffee boss James Hennebry tells us the secret to great coffee August 10, 2026 We’re into the final round of voting for the 2026 Toast the City Awards. We’ve been catching up with some of our finalists; today we spoke to Rosslyn Coffee co-founder James Hennebry, who has two of his City locations, Ludgate Circus and London Wall, nominated in the Best Coffee category. To vote for your favourite [...]
Pret A Manger dumps US franchise agreement after just two years June 9, 2026 Pret A Manger has dumped the franchise agreement which it had launched to expand in the US after just two years, its latest accounts revealed. The coffee chain formed a joint venture, known as Empire JointStar, with its franchise operator Dallas Holdings in October 2023, in a bid to accelerate its expansion in the US. [...]
Tesco deal helps Esquires Coffee owner to surge in sales as it eyes 300 stores May 28, 2026 A fresh deal with Tesco helped the owner of the Esquires Coffee chain to a jump in turnover. Cooks Coffee Company, which is listed on Aquis, posted UK and Ireland store sales of £43.1m for the year to end March, a surge of 22.8 per cent. Pre-tax earnings rose 6.8 per cent to £529,000, while [...]
Black Sheep Coffee founder: ‘The Square Mile is a magical place’ May 19, 2026 Black Sheep Coffee was founded in the Square Mile but has now expanded across the world. Its co-founder tells Felix Armstrong about his roots in the City Gabriel Shohet is a company man. The Black Sheep Coffee founder enters the meeting room at the coffee chain’s Southwark offices clad in a branded hoodie, with a [...]
Lazy Coffee is the best coffee in the City – this is how they do it May 19, 2026 We have launched the Toast the City awards 2026 and throughout the year we’ll be speaking to some of the past winners. Today we caught up with Lazy Coffee founder Matthew Staite, whose Abchurch Yard coffee cart won the Best Coffee award. To nominate your favourite Square Mile spots for the 2026 awards, from bars [...]
Startups should pray the US AI giants don’t run out of cash April 23, 2026 As City AM revealed earlier this week, a London-based business has raised £2m to fund the development of an AI-powered coffee vending machine. The company’s founders say they can tailor the contents of the hot drinks – like coffee strength and milk content – based on the preferences of the customer, using AI. That sounds [...]
AI could be picking your coffee as startup takes £2m April 20, 2026 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” [...]