NI family-owned coffee chain set to expand into south
Bob & Berts secures £2 million (€2.16 million) equity investment to establish 30 new stores and create up to 600 jobs
Print25 August 2017
The Northern Irish family-owned Bob & Berts coffee shop chain is set to expand into the south and Scotland, after securing a significant €2.16m equity investment.
At present, Bob & Berts has 16 shops in the north, the first of which opened in Portstewart, Co. Derry.
The chain is now planning further growth, after securing a £2 million (€2.16 million) equity investment to establish 30 new stores and create up to 600 jobs.
The Irish Times reports the business secured the investment from the UK’s Business Growth Fund, which is supported by five of the UK’s main banks.
Colin McClean; his father, Arnold; and David Ferguson set up the business with the aim of offering “something different to large multinational coffee chains”.
According to Ferguson, the chain’s “local community” approach has created a place for people to relax from breakfast through to evening.
His co-owner and brother-in-law, Colin McClean, described the rapid growth of the business, noting that it has added 10 new stores in just the past two years. The chain is “now actively looking at sites in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland,” McClean said.
The equity investment deal with Business Growth Fund will see Mohan Mansigani, a hospitality industry expert who helped shape the growth model for Costa Coffee, join the board of Bob & Berts as non-executive chairman. Gemma Hamilton, an investor from the fund’s Northern Irish team, will likewise join the board of Bob & Berts.
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