Soho Coffee acquires Tesco’s Euphorium Bakery stores: Artisan fresh food and coffee brand Soho Coffee Co has acquired Euphorium Bakery’s five high street stores from Tesco, while Samworth Brothers, a long-term supplier partner of the retail giant, has acquired Euphorium’s Weybridge factory. Soho Coffee will continue to operate the stores under the Euphorium brand. The sale comes only a year after Tesco took full ownership of the business. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Following the deal, Tesco will take back ownership of the 57 in-store bakery concessions and smaller sites inside its Express stores, which were previously run by Euphorium. All staff will be transferred back to Tesco, but it is understood “a small number” of managerial roles have been put at risk, Retail Week reports. Tesco is set to launch a consultation in the coming days but it is thought it will seek to redeploy staff in other areas of the business, rather than make redundancies. The move comes as Tesco pilots a new bakery format in some of its stores. A Tesco spokesman said: “We know how important a great bakery offer is to our customers, and this agreement will mean we can continue to serve shoppers with great-quality Tesco bakery products.” Britain’s biggest retailer is focusing on its core supermarket operations as chief executive Dave Lewis continues his bid to turn the business around. Tesco has sold two of its biggest overseas businesses, Homeplus in Korea and Kipa in Turkey since Lewis took the helm almost two years ago. It has also disposed of Dobbies Garden Centres, restaurant chain Giraffe and the Harris + Hoole coffee shop chain, while it also shuttered its NutriCentre health and wellbeing business as it increases its focus on rejuvenating the fortunes within the fiercely contested grocery market. Euphorium Bakery was founded in 1999 by Danny Bear in Islington, London. Tesco took a stake in the business in 2012, before taking full ownership of the chain in April 2015.

Fledgling pubco Rarebreed Dining secures £6m funding for second site and expansion: Havisham Group, a privately-owned investment fund founded in 2013 by David Brownlow, has invested £6m of committed equity capital and institutional leverage in fledgling pubco Rarebreed Dining to fund its acquisition of a second site and expansion plans. Surrey-based Rarebreed Dining was founded a year ago by four friends who, tired of repetitive pub menus, opened their first site – The Plough Inn in Cobham – offering steaks, grilled and barbecue dishes, Sunday roasts, and bowls using fresh British produce and seasonal ingredients. The new investment has allowed Rarebreed to acquire its second site – The Shurlock Inn in Shurlock Row, Berkshire. The picturesque freehold pub will be redeveloped in the coming months, while the group is looking to acquire four to five new freehold and leasehold venues in the next three years in London and the south east. A Rarebreed Dining spokesman said: “(Our) passion for creating exceptional fresh dishes and cocktails, championing great British produce and relaxed modern environments has been making waves. We believe in nurturing our team’s passion and cherishing our sites to develop each of them individually into special and unique destinations.”