Kitty Café expands into Leeds
Nottingham’s famed Kitty Café has expanded and opened a second cat café in Leeds following a six figure loan from HSBC to support with fit-out costs.
Kitty Café Leeds opened on December 11 at 8-9 Kirkgate, in newly-renovated premises. The space underwent a £500,000 refit with support from HSBC to help transform it into a custom-built cat playground and café, complete with walkways, slides, perches, cat pillows and climbing frames.
Around 30 cats from local rescue charities will be based at the cafe, where they will be available for adoption by customers. The café will provide these cats a chance to meet people, socialise and get used to being stroked, before being re-homed.
Customers who visit the café are encouraged to play with cats as they enjoy a wide variety of cat-themed mocktails and hot and cold snacks.
The café is run by Kate and Oliver Charles-Richard from Mapperley, Nottingham. Following the success of their Nottingham branch, the couple chose to open a second shop in Leeds having decided that the city’s popular centre and warm community feel would welcome the business. The six-figure funding package was secured through HSBC’s recently launched £10bn SME fund.
Kate said: “We are thrilled to be able to expand our business and introduce Kitty Café to Leeds. Nottingham has been a great success and we have managed to find new homes for lots of cats through our unique rehoming programme. We hope to do the same here – in fact, our Leeds site is a little bigger so we can host more animals. HSBC’s support has enabled us to create a wonderful space for our customers and our cats to enjoy.”
Dave Welch, HSBC area dDirector for Business Banking East Midlands, said: “Cat cafes have become hugely popular in recent years and we are delighted to have helped Kitty Café open a second shop. Our business banking specialists are dedicated to supporting British businesses in realising their growth ambitions, and we are certainly delighted to be helping support the rehoming of rescue cats.”
HSBC’s relationship manager for the East Midlands, Anthony Greenfield, led the funding support for Kitty Café and continues to provide guidance as the company progresses its business strategy.
