Caffe Nero owner reports record performance in current financial year with like-for-likes up 7.4%, full-year sales hit record $680m: Nero Group, the owner of Caffe Nero, Coffee#1 and 200 Degrees, has reported record results in the first eight months of its current financial year with like-for-like sales up 7.4% and overall sales rising by 13%. The group has also increased its store count by 71 stores in the year thus far and now has 324 stores outside the UK. It comes as the group reported sales grew 13% to a record $680m (£538.9m) for the year ending 31 May 2024. The group, which currently operates 1,122 stores across 11 countries with more than 11,000 employees, reported like-for-like sales growth of 8.4%. Group Ebitda was up 20% to $63m (£49.9m). The Caffè Nero UK business increased sales 10% from £302m to £333m with UK Ebitda up 17% to £38.5m. The group also restarted its openings programme and added 61 new stores across the world, 29 of which were in the UK. The delivery business in the UK experienced growth of 17.5% year on year, and the coffee at home business (packaged coffee) had sales of £4.8m – growth of 65% including in-store sales of its coffee at home products of £2.4m. In addition to in-store sales success, the coffee at home business saw the continued strengthening of partnerships with major supermarket and retail partners (sales through Amazon grew by 50%), and the expansion of the brand’s Waitrose partnership. The Caffe Nero UK business also saw a 14% increase in iced drinks sales, which resulted from the expansion of the “Coffee over Ice” menu range, led by the sustained popularity of the pistachio iced latte. The UK business also benefited from a strong promotional calendar, including the autumn amaretto latte, the high-performing Christmas menu and the introduction of the honey oat latte. Founder and group chief executive, Gerry Ford, said: “FY24 was a very positive and encouraging performance by the group. Despite high inflation for much of the year across all our territories and the impact of repeated train strikes in the UK, we continued to build sales momentum following a return to ‘normal’ trading after covid. We delivered a particularly strong fourth quarter performance in FY24, which gave us real momentum heading into the current financial year, which we are continuing to build on. We were able to resume at pace our new store opening programme, which we will continue through FY25 and beyond.” Caffè Nero features in the Propel 500 report, an unparalleled resource that profiles the UK’s leading hospitality operators ranked by turnover – which is available now. This comprehensive report provides more than 90,000 words of analysis, delving into company histories, leadership structures, site numbers and financial performance, making it an essential resource for industry professionals. A list of the operators included can be discovered now by visiting the Propel 500 page on Propel’s website. The guide is delivered in two parts: an introductory PDF, featuring deep dives into the top 25 companies and 6,500 words of insight from Propel’s expert writers, and a fully searchable Excel sheet, offering easy access to all the data. Key highlights include Mark Wingett’s exploration of mergers and acquisitions shaping the Top 500’s future, Tim Street’s view of the UK’s franchise market, and Phil Pemberton’s insights into experiential leisure as a hospitality cornerstone. Katherine Doggrell examines developments in UK hotels, while Mark Bentley, business development director at HDI, identifies emerging growth sectors, and Maria Vanifatova, founder of Meaningful Vision, analyses trends in quick service restaurants. Propel 500 is available now for £595 plus VAT. Existing Premium Club members can purchase it for £395 plus VAT. Premium Club members will receive the report for free on Friday, 28 February at 9am. Order the Propel 500 report today by emailing: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com.