Turnover climbs to over £200m for Bettys & Taylors
The company behind Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms, Yorkshire Tea and Taylors of Harrogate coffee has seen its turnover grow to more than £200m.
Harogate-based Bettys & Taylors Group has filed accounts with Companies House, which show its turnover rose by 10% to £208.1m in the year ending 31 October 2018, a rise from £189.7m in 2017.
However, despite record sales levels the group’s operating profit was down to £11.2m, compared to £15.1m the year before, a fall it blamed on “difficult market conditions, exchange rate volatility and increasing commodity cost”.
The group is marking its 100th anniversary this year. It includes six Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms, an online business – Bettys By Post, Bettys Cookery School and Taylors of Harrogate, which produces Yorkshire Tea as well as a range of fresh ground coffees and specialty teas.
Commenting in its annual report, a spokesman for the group said: “In an increasingly competitive market we have seen good sales performance, with turnover growing by 10%.
“During the year we started a major investment programme to ensure that we remain able to satisfy the growing demand for our products.
“We are expanding our tea and coffee manufacturing site in Harrogate and investing in both new equipment and in our operating systems.
“Overall there has been investment in plant, machinery and IT systems of £8.9m in the year (2017: £3.9m).”
As of the end of October 2018, the group reported cash balances of £32.5m, a reduction of £5.5m from the end of October 2017, and total shareholders’ funds of £126.2m.
