Caffè Nero

In 1997, Gerry Ford, our founder and CEO, bought five retail sites in London and Caffè Nero was born. It took nearly a year to perfect the brand and build a strong team of equally passionate people. During these early years, Caffè Nero received the honour of “Best Espresso This Side of Milan” credited by Tatler Magazine. In 1999 we opened stores outside London, and by the end of 2000, the Nero team had built 31 cafes and established the company as a national brand. We won a British Design Council award for best company identity. In March 2001, Caffè Nero joined the London Stock Exchange and by the end of the year, we had 80 coffee houses in 24 cities and towns. In 2002, 29 Aroma coffee houses were acquired, which established us as the largest independent coffee house in the UK with 106 stores. We were named the 20th fastest growing company in Europe by Business Week magazine. That same year, Caffè Nero retained the number one position in Allegra’s UK coffee rankings marking its fifth consecutive win (8 in total), and Gerry Ford was named “UK Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Financial Times and London Stock Exchange.