Caffè Nero UK CEO Will Stratton-Morris has stepped down from his leadership role, taking up a new position as the group’s chief business development officer.
Stratton-Morris joined the coffee chain as the first externally appointed CEO in 2017. During his more than seven-year tenure in the role, he also led the development of the group’s new business channels.
“Will has worked very hard over the past seven-plus years to promote the Caffè Nero business in the United Kingdom,” said group CEO and founder Gerry Ford.
“The board and I would like to thank him for all his effort and commitment. As we move into a phase of greater expansion, I’m sure Will’s skill sets will prove extremely useful to the group in establishing new business partnerships, developing our footprint in new countries and securing new commercial relationships.”
The UK business will be led by Ford, group CFO Ben Price and UK managing director Glyn House until a new boss is appointed.
Caffè Nero said the process to appoint a new CEO for the UK business was “well underway and an appointment will be made in the months ahead”.
The announcement comes as the premium coffee house brand delivered 11% sales growth across the world with 5.5% like-for-like sales growth during its third quarter (1 December 2024 to 28 February 2025).
In the UK, total sales grew 8% and like-for-like sales were up 6.2% versus the third quarter last year.
Caffè Nero said the strong sales performance in the UK was supported by its Christmas trading, which saw over two million customers served during December and a sales increase of 14% compared with the previous year.
During the Christmas period, the UK business also had two record sales weeks of over £9m and the highest-ever single-day sales at £1.5m.
“We have a different model than most other companies in our sector. We are an independent, home-grown startup focused on the premium end of the coffee market that now has scale,” said Ford.
We own our stores and have built our business with strong foundations over many years. I think this is paying off as we continue to grow our brands across the world.”
No comments yet