200 Degrees lands £3m investment – and could create 140 jobs
200 Degrees Coffee, the Nottingham-based independent chain of coffee houses, could create up to 140 jobs after receiving £3m worth of investment.
The cash will be used to open new venues in between five and 10 cities, expand its wholesale business and launch an online shop.
The funding is coming from private equity firm Foresight Group through its Foresight Nottingham fund.
Co-founder Rob Darby said: “We have this ambition to become the leading specialist coffee company in the UK.
“People are becoming more and more discerning about their coffee and will seek us out for the love and care we put into ours.
“We’d like to grow what we’re doing and we felt the investment from Foresight, and the partnership with its mentoring scheme, will help us to develop into a bigger business.
“But we definitely have no intention to lose our independence or roots as our dedication to good, specialist coffee will remain at the forefront.”
200 Degrees was started in 2012 by Rob Darby and Tom Vincent. It has branches two branches in Nottingham, as well as venues in Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Leicester.
The firm currently employs 110 people, which could expand to 250 after the investment.
As part of the deal, former Thorntons chief executive Jonathan Hart will become a non-executive chairman.
Mike Quinn, senior investment manager at Foresight, said: “200 Degrees is a very high-profile deal for Nottingham and the perfect example of the kind of company we are looking to invest into with the Foresight Nottingham Fund and venture capital trust funds that we manage.
“Rob and Tom have created a great brand in the Nottingham area and we look forward to working with them, expanding the store-led model to bring its quality coffee to more retail and wholesale customers across the UK from its base in Nottingham.”