Coffee#1 has reported strong trading in the five months of its financial year, with like-for-like sales up 111% on 2019 levels.
Owned by the Caffe Nero Group since 2019, the community focused coffee shop operator then saw sales peak in September and October, at 117% of pre-pandemic levels, resulting in its first £1m gross sales week.
The business opened four stores in the first quarter (June to September) taking its total estate to 106 coffee shops in the UK. It has several more in the pipeline, including five planned to open over the next three months.
Coffee#1 opened its first site in Wales in 2001 and has since expanded into the west and south west of England, and has a small number of sites in the Midlands. Its more recent opened in Buxton, Derbyshire.
During the period the business also commenced a delivery partnership with Just Eat at more than 60 of its locations and is looking to expand the service further.
A new click and collect function, which will run through the brand’s app, will also go live in the coming weeks.
Commenting on its performance, Coffee#1 managing director, Bruce Newman stated: “We’ve been thrilled by the performance of Coffee#1 over the last six months, which is a testament to the brilliant work of our store and support centre teams who have coped with the past three years so well.
“While the business faces obvious cost pressures, our locations at the heart of the community mean we are well placed to deal with the challenges ahead, respond to the changing working patterns we see around us and continue to grow and expand.”
He added that while Coffee#1 will remain a predominantly drink-in brand, the launch of both delivery and click and collect services will complement its core drink-in offer.
