Coffee #1 is a British

coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, Caffè americano, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually ...

chain that originated in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 2001, and is now owned by

Caffè Nero Caffè Nero is a coffeehouse company headquartered in London, England, established in 1997 by Gerry Ford. Caffè Nero runs over 1,000 coffee houses in eleven countries: the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey, the UAE, Oman and ...

. Coffee#1 has outlets along the

M4 corridor The M4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. It is a major hi-tech hub. Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London, Slough, Bracknell, M ...

, with others in Wales and southern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History

Coffee #1 was co-founded in 2000 by David Jones, Maryanne Tagney, James Shapland and Anthony Shapland. James Shapland was appointed managing director in 2002 and was majority shareholder when the business was sold in 2011. Jones and Tagney Jones, both based in Washington State, USA, remained minority shareholders and non-executive directors until the sale in 2011. Coffee#1 opened its first coffee shop in 2001 on Wood Street, Cardiff, and had three shops by the end of that year. Shapland grew the company to become a market leader across

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

and

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

. The company won the Cafe Society's Coffee Bar Chain of the Year award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and the Beverage Service Association's 'Best UK Coffee Chain' in 2009. In the autumn of 2011, Coffee#1 was bought by the Cardiff brewery company SA Brain, who wished to diversify from their pub business. The move was seen as a symptom of the tough trading conditions in the beer market. Brains had previously had

Costa Coffee Costa Limited, trading as Costa Coffee, is a coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, England, that operates in the United Kingdom and 37 other countries. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa (co ...

outlets in several of its pubs. In 2013 another nine outlets were added and in 2014 sales grew by 55%. In April 2015 the company opened their 50th outlet, in

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

, Hampshire, giving them a total workforce of 380. At the end of 2015 the chain included 57 coffee shops across Wales and parts of southern and central England. The company planned to open another 15 in 2016. In mid-2018, SA Brain announced that they wished to sell a majority stake in Coffee#1, after a strategic review.

bought a 70% stake in the business, which at that time had 92 outlets, in January 2019, and took full ownership in February 2022. Caffè Nero operates Coffee#1 as a standalone brand.

References

External links

* {{UK Food Coffeehouses and cafés in the United Kingdom Food and drink companies established in 2001 2001 establishments in Wales