Catalyst Retail, the troubled UK master franchisee of Lavazza Espression, the cafe concept from Italian coffee brand Lavazza, has gone into liquidation, M&C Report has learnt.
The Manchester-based company, which planned to have 28 UK cafes trading by the end of 2013, has undergone compulsory liquidation following a winding up petition from creditors.
In May Lavazza UK said it was “treating very seriously” reports that of difficulties between individual franchisees and Catalyst Retail, which had been appointed to rollout the cafe concept in the UK and Ireland.
Franchisees had complained of a lack of support from Catalyst Retail.
In July the Independent reported that Lavazza has now scaled back its expansion plans in the UK, from 400 in a decade to 50 over the next five years. The newspaper quoted company vice president Guiseppe Lavazza saying: “It’s not our core business. It’s very difficult, it’s much more real estate.”
M&C had earlier revealed that Catalyst Retail was looking to launch a “grab and go” version of the café concept prior to running into difficulties.
Speaking to M&C Report in October last year, Catalyst Retail said it plans to have 28 UK cafes trading by the end of 2013 and has almost 20 franchisees confirmed for the rollout.
