Wed 1st May 2024 - Exclusive: The Coffee House eyes estate of more than 80 sites after securing £4m investment from AJ Bell founder Exclusive – The Coffee House eyes estate of more than 80 sites after securing £4m investment from AJ Bell founder, targets 30 locations by end of 2024: North west independent coffee shop The Coffee House is eyeing an estate of more than 80 sites after securing a £4m cash injection from the founder of investment platform AJ Bell, Propel has learned. The investment will help accelerate The Coffee House’s growth across the north west and fulfil its ambition of becoming the leading operator in the region, the company said. It was founded in 2011 by brothers Chris and Stephen Shelmerdine and currently operates 22 outlets in communities across the north west. Expansion into new locations has accelerated over the past 12 months, with a new opening on average every month, and it plans to operate more than 30 outlets by the end of 2024, with “significant potential for growth at similar rates in the following years”. The new investment will also support the development of the company’s food production and coffee roasting facility in Warrington, to enable it to support more than 80 stores in future. The investment comes from Andy Bell, chief executive of FTSE 250-listed investment platform AJ Bell, and his retired business partner Fergus Lyons. The co-founders will retain a controlling share of The Coffee House and remain managing director (Chris) and development director (Stephen), respectively. David Evans, formally chief executive of Arriva’s mainland European operations and an early investor in The Coffee House, has also been appointed chairman and will support and advise the brothers as they continue to develop the management team. “This investment is a massive milestone for our business as it provides us with the means to enhance our operational capabilities and, crucially, the resources to develop our management teams to support success far into the future,” Chris Shelmerdine said. “Recently, our focus has been on creating the infrastructure to support a growing coffee brand. It is exciting to be entering a new stage of growth where we continue to expand the team that will take us into the future. We are very grateful to have access to Andy and Fergus’ expertise. It perfectly complements our existing shareholder group, and we look forward to collectively continuing on the journey.” Bell added: “Great businesses need great products and great people, and The Coffee House has both. Chris and Stephen are dynamic and have created a great business in an exciting market, making this one of my easier investment decisions.” The Coffee House has so far this year opened new sites in Birkenhead and Hyde, and next up is a launch in Newcastle-under-Lyme, later this month. Included in the pipeline for this year are further locations in Warrington, Leigh, Wallasey and Liverpool. The Coffee House features in the Multi-Site Database, the latest edition of which was sent to Premium Club members on Friday (26 April). The database, produced in association with Virgate, included 23 new companies and brings the total to 3,098. Companies are now searchable in seven main segments with The Coffee House included in the cafe bakery segment, which features 510 operators. This is the third biggest segment behind casual dining (910 operators) and pub and bar (765 operators). A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.