Coffee roaster and café operator Black Sheep Coffee has lined up five new openings in the capital, including a flagship unit at the bottom of the “Cheesegrater” in the City, MCA understands.
The company, which recently opened its sixth site at the Bird & Bird building in New Fetter Lane, will open in the Leadenhall Building (Cheesegrater) this spring, with further openings to follow at the South Bank Tower development; Regent’s Place; Principal Place – Worship Street; and at the Centre Point building.
At the same time, the company has appointed David Ellison, formerly of Pret and Costa, as its new head of operations.
Ellison spent nearly 11 years at Pret, the majority of which as an operations manager.
Some of the new stores will have feature the group’s new “after work concept” with London brewed craft beers, and coffee inspired cocktails such as expresso martinis and Irish coffee.
Co-founder Gabriel Shohet said: “We’re trying to make pleasant places for friends to hang out after work. The focus is on upmarket alcohol but reasonably priced.
“It’s really exciting, we’ve got a really great team and we’ve been preparing for some time, it’s a lot of fun to get it across the line.”
The company was founded in 2013 by four university friends, roasting its own coffee and distributing it online and wholesale to restaurants, coffee shops and hotels as well as distributing espresso machines to serve as a one-stop resource.
In 2014, the company raised £23,000 through a KickStarter campaign, which was then followed by a £500,000 private equity raise from investors including Gaucho financial and commercial director Frank Bandura.
