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Black Sheep Coffee raises £11.5m of liquidity through a mixture of debt and equity: Black Sheep Coffee has raised £11.5m of liquidity through a mixture of debt and equity “to ensure the group has sufficient liquidity to continue to trade while executing its growth strategy”. The speciality coffee shop operator, which is approaching 100 UK locations, revealed the figures in its accounts for the year to 31 December 2023, which have just been published to Companies House. The financing, all raised post year end, included £350,730 in shareholder loans secured this month, repayable within a year. The company also secured a £1.2m loan from NH Finance in December, repayable within two years. Through June, July and August 2024, the company entered into shareholder loan agreements worth £2,407,675 and repayable within a year. Some shareholders have opted to either convert their loan to equity or extend repayment of their loan by 12 months, with the total not converted or extended coming to £1,270,000. A further loan was secured in May 2024 with YouLend, with £1.1m of the £1m loan, including interest and fees, paid back by the end of 2024. In addition, the company issued five rounds of A Ordinary shares, at £0.01 each at £500.00 per share, with two further rounds agreed but not yet issued. The company said: “Trading performance since the period ended 31 December 2023 has been strong, with double-digit same store sales growth in H2 2024, as well as adding 27 franchised stores in 2024 and entering both the USA and GCC markets. Subsequent to the period-end and prior to the approval of the financial statements, the company raised £11.5m of liquidity through a mix of debt and equity. This financing was raised to ensure the group has sufficient liquidity to continue to trade, while executing its growth strategy.” The company’s turnover for the year to 31 December 2023 rose from £21,348,236 to £32,415,228. Of this, £27,551,004 came from the operation of coffee shops (2022: £20,870,557), £3,043,454 from franchise fees and recharges (2022: £334,756), £1,340,976 from rental income (2022: £94,780) and £479,704 from franchise service fees (2022: £48,143). Further analysis shows that £31,346,807 in turnover came from the UK (2022: £21,337,672) and £1,068,421 from the rest of the world (2022: £10,564). In terms of system sales, these showed 77.5% growth, from £24,284,893 in 2022 to £43,104,152. This included growth of 38.2% in corporate store sales, from £22,907,012 to £31,667,740, and growth of 730% in franchised stores, from £1,377,881 to £11,436,412. Net store openings in the period totalled 19 (2022: 11). Its pre-tax loss narrowed from £12,228,670 in 2022 to £7,433,860, although the 2022 figure was restated post year – from a previous figure of £5,800,820 – after an error relating to unrecorded share options granted to certain employees and directors in 2021 and 2022 was identified. The company received £327,488 in other operating income in 2023, primarily consisting of business interruption insurance claim payouts, compared to £155,338 in 2022, which primarily consisted of restart grant scheme income. Earlier this month, Propel reported that since 1 January 2024, Black Sheep Coffee has increased run-rate system sales by 74% from $62 to $108m and welcomed 19 new franchise partners into its network. It kicked off a new franchise territory growth model and has signed seven territory exclusivity agreements for a commitment to open a minimum of 63 shops. It saw its largest sustained jump in same store transaction volume to date, keeping an average rate of 19% throughout the second half of 2024. The company increased its UK quarterly average unit volume by 20% from £174,000 to £208,000 and increased weekly order volumes by 119% from 115,000 to 251,000. In terms of franchising, the company said sales are up by 38% from £7.2m (Q2 2024) to £9.9m (Q4 2024). It signed 16 unit franchisee agreements in 2024 and its franchise shop number increased from 47 at the end of the first half to 55 at the end of the second half. Black Sheep Coffee features in the UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database, which features a total of 340 companies, and which is exclusive to Premium Club subscribers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

Premium Club subscribers to receive updated segmented Multi-Site Database with 3,360 operators and 27 new companies tomorrow: Premium Club subscribers are to receive the updated Multi-Site Database tomorrow (Friday, 28 March), at noon. The next Propel Multi-Site Database provides details of 3,360 multi-site operators and is searchable in seven main segments. The database features 981 (29%) operators from the casual dining sector, 792 (24%) pub and bar operators, 571 (17%) cafe bakery operators, 472 (14%) quick service restaurant operators, 276 (8%) hotel operators, 214 (6%) experiential leisure operators and 54 (2%) fine dining operators. The database is updated each month, and this edition includes 27 new companies. The database includes new additions in the casual dining sector such as Ria’s, the all-day Detroit-style pizza and natural wine concept, the boutique restaurant group Fired Up Collective, and Cardiff Turkish restaurant concept Longa. Premium Club subscribers also receive access to five additional databases: the New Openings Database, the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who's Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Club subscribers will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025) and discounts on specialist sector reports such as the International Brands report. Operators that are Premium Club subscribers are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club subscribers receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club subscribers will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club subscribers also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. 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 supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Workers’ rights bonanza ‘will hammer jobs market and the economy’, watchdog warns: Angela Rayner’s workers' rights bonanza is likely to damage the jobs market and the economy, the public finances watchdog has warned. The Office for Budget Responsibility said it expected the deputy prime minister’s flagship law to be bad news for firms – raising the prospect that its final judgment at the next Budget could blow another hole in the chancellor’s efforts to balance the books. It comes after the government’s own impact assessment admitted the introduction of sweeping rights for staff – including the ability to sue bosses on day one and restrictions on zero-hours contracts – will likely cost businesses £5bn a year. The OBR said in its Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published alongside yesterday’s spring statement: “Employment regulation policies that affect the flexibility of businesses and labour markets or the quantity and quality of work will likely have material, and probably net negative, economic impacts on employment, prices, and productivity. Given these potentially significant impacts, we will incorporate a central estimate of the aggregate impacts of the policy package in our next forecast.” The OBR also said Rachel Reeves’ controversial increase to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) last autumn, which kicks in next week, is likely to be causing bosses to lay off staff. It said some surveys already “point to a substantial reduction in nominal wages relative to what would otherwise have occurred”, but others suggest the result of the added costs will be higher prices for consumers. Federation of Small Businesses policy chairman Tina McKenzie said: “Many small employers are worried about next month's rise in employer NICs. The government needs to listen to the feedback from business on the Employment Rights Bill and change the elements which are most likely to act as a deterrent to job creation.” Meanwhile, Labour’s tax rises and workers’ rights bill have left the UK’s bosses “pretty p----d off”, the head of Britain’s biggest business group has said. Rupert Soames, the chairman of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said bosses were becoming “irritated” with the government, adding that dealing with the consequences of the workers’ rights bill would be “very difficult”. He added: “People bought into the idea that Labour would be the most pro-business government ever, and clearly they aren’t.”

Hospitality arm of Regency Homes reports record turnover and profit: Hotel and golf course operator Manor of Groves, the hospitality arm of Regency Homes, has reported turnover almost doubled to a record £34,589,478 for the 14 months ending 31 March 2023, compared with £17,847,057 for the year ending 31 January 2022, as it bounced back from the covid pandemic. Revenue also exceeded the £18,415,512 reported for the year ending 31 January 2020 – the last full year before the pandemic. Of the 2023 income, £26,095,926 came from hotel accommodation (2022: £10,000,824), £4,404,481 from food and beverage (2022: £5,297,748), £1,355,696 from room and equipment hire (2022: £916,858), £1,354,321 from the health club and beauty salon (2022: £875,206), £1,330,783 from the golf clubs (2022: £684,487) and £48,271 from miscellaneous (2022: £71,934). The business saw pre-tax profit grow to a record £10,628,430 compared with £138,853 for the year ending 31 January 2022, when the business was still subjected to covid restrictions. The company, which employs around 340 staff, received government grants of £12,809 (2022: £769,139). Dividends of £78,700 were paid (2022: £78,700). Manor Of Groves is an 80-bedroom hotel, golf course and leisure club situated in 150 acres in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire. The company also operates the Shendish Manor Hotel & Golf Course in Hertfordshire and the Regency Hotel in Berkshire.