Coffee 1
Coffee#1 is a British coffee house chain that originated in Cardiff, Wales in 2001. Since 2011 it has been owned by Cardiff brewery company SA Brain. Coffee#1 now has outlets across Wales and southern England.
Background
Coffee#1 started in 2001 with the opening a coffee shop on Wood Street, Cardiff,[1] by entrepreneur James Shapland.[2] By 2011 it had 15 outlets across South Wales and South West England[3] and had twice won the Cafe Society's Coffee Bar Chain of the Year award.[4]
In the autumn of 2011, Coffee#1 was bought by the Cardiff brewery company SA Brain, who wished to diversify from their successful pub business. The move was seen as a symptom of the tough trading conditions in the beer market.[3] Brains had previously had Costa Coffee outlets in several of its pubs.[4]
In 2013 another nine outlets were added and in 2014 sales grew by 55%.[5]
In April 2015 the company opened their 50th outlet, in Fareham, Hampshire, giving them a total workforce of 380.[2] At the end of 2015 the chain included 57 coffee shops across Wales and parts of southern and central England. It planned to open another 15 in 2016.[1]
References
- 1 2 Chris Kelsey (26 November 2015). "Coffee #1 to open 15 new shops across Wales and England as part of £85m package". Wales Online. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
- 1 2 Sion Barry (25 March 2015). "Coffee#1 is star performer in strong financial results from SA Brain & Co". Wales Online. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
- 1 2 "Brains brewery plans to open 30 Coffee #1 shops". BBC News. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
- 1 2 Chris Kelsey (4 October 2011). "SA Brains buys Coffee#1 chain". Wales Online. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
- ↑ "Brains brewery Coffee #1 shops sales rise 55%". BBC News. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-10.