The group behind Caffè Nero created more than 1,000 jobs as its sales surged by more than £100m during its latest financial year, according to new documents.
The London-headquartered chain, which includes the Harris + Holle, Coffee #1 and Aroma brands, has reported a revenue of £450.4m for the 12 months to May 31, 2023, up from £349.6m.
Its also returned to making a pre-tax profit with a total of £7.3m having fallen to a loss of £15.5m in the prior year.
The newly-filed accounts with Companies House show that Caffè Nero’s headcount increased from 5,763 to 6,864.
Caffè Nero’s UK and Ireland sales increased from £315.5m to £375.1m while they also rose from £12.7m to £24.1m in Turkey, from £17.7m to £23.4m in the USA and from £98,000 to £22.6m in Poland.
The company’s revenue also grew in Sweden, Oman, the UAE and Cyprus.
A statement signed off by the board said: “During FY23, the group’s trading continued to recover from the pandemic period.
“At the start of FY23, the group’s sales had returned to around 100 per cent of normal (i.e. pre-Covid) levels.
“By the end of the financial year, these sales had progressed favourably to over 115 per cent.
“However, this return to sales growth and profitability post-pandemic was held back during the year by political and economic events, the effects of which were principally a very rapid rise in energy costs, ingredients costs, wages and interest rates.
“All of the group’s markets were adversely impacted and it generally slowed recovery.
“These macro effects were outside the group’s control, but, nevertheless, negatively affected consumer sentiment for most of the first three quarters of the financial year.
“As a result, the group’s sales were below budget in most territories and its costs were above budget. This meant that the group’s normally robust EBITDA performance was below expectations.
“Nonetheless, by the end of FY23, as macroeconomic conditions continued to improve, the group experienced positive momentum and was in a much stronger position with Q4 sales near 00 per cent of budgeted levels and the rate of inflation easing in all territories.
“The group enters FY24 optimistic that the disruptions of FY23 are dissipating.”
Caffè Nero was established in 1997 by Gerry Ford and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2001 before being taken private in 2007.