22nd March 2008
By MICHAEL BLACKLEY
www.scotsman.com
A NEW York-style delicatessen, a coffee shop and a chocolatier are to open in Fountainbridge as the expansion of the city's financial district continues.
Scottish deli firm McLeish Brothers and coffee chain Coffee Republic have secured the ground floor space at the £50 million Lochrin Square development. Chocolate retailer Thorntons will also set up a franchised shop.
The new retailers are expected to open at the former Scotmid headquarters in April, around the same time as Bank of Scotland Corporate moves into its new base on the site.
Business leaders today claimed the move would bring more of a "Venice lifestyle" to the canalside area around the former Fountain Brewery.
The Lochrin Square office development is now on the verge of full capacity, only four months after it was completed. David Robinson, development director at Gladedale Capital, which worked on the project as a joint venture with Scotmid, said: "McLeish Brothers will provide the perfect retail complement to the corporate tenants already at Lochrin Square.
"It's a fantastic result to have the final space in No.1 Lochrin Square snapped up less than four months after practical completion.
Dundee-based McLeish Brothers is to take a 15-year lease, worth £90,000 a year, as it continues its Scottish expansion.
Coffee Republic announced its return to Scotland last year. It has an espresso bar at FountainPark and is planning a unit in St Andrew Square Gardens.
As well as HBoS, which recently leased 62,000 sq ft of space at No.1 Lochrin Sq
uare, legal firm Biggart Baillie LLP and financial services support company Watson Wyatt have also moved to the block.
Stanley Morrice, managing director of McLeish Brothers, said: "Lochrin Square is a marvellous development and its location as well as its quality, infrastructure and general spec, made it the ideal choice for us."
The new deals were also welcomed by business leaders. Ron Hewitt, chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said:
"There is no doubt the rejuvenation of the Lochrin Basin is one of the most welcome developments in Edinburgh. It brings that Venice lifestyle that changes it from an undesirable nightspot to a place people want to be."
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“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success” - Henry Ford. An apt dedication to the Coffee Republic rebel shareholders.
This blog is independently written and not affiliated with Coffee Republic Plc in any way
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success” - Henry Ford. An apt dedication to the Coffee Republic rebel shareholders.
*Last blog update*
28th January 2009
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- New CR Deli set to open in West Kensington, London
- New CR Deli open in Liverpool?
- New CR Deli open in Bayswater/Queensway
- CR and McLeish to take a bite out of England
- FIve more CR Delis set for Ireland in next 12 months
- Coffee Republic Master Franchise advert for India
- CR and McLeish Bros to open in Edinburgh's financi...
- CR's UK & Ireland coverage via CineWorld
- New Openings Galore!
- CR Deli open on The Strand, London
- CR to open in Perth, Scotland
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Financial Results - 2007
International operating stores
- Bulgaria
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- Turkey
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International Master Franchises signed
- Bahrain
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Rumours - International Master Franchises
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Coffee Republic reborn
Coffee Republic was formed in 1995 by Bobby and Sahar Hashemi, a brother and sister who wanted to bring quality coffee from New York to Britain. They saw the opportunity for exporting the coffee bar concept to Britain. Over the past twelve years the company has been through several phases, but is now taking a radically new direction, and embarking on what may be its most exciting phase to date.
Bobby Hashemi’s instinct had been correct, and in the eight years after establishing the first ever Coffee Republic on South Molton Street in London, the company grew rapidly, growing to more than a hundred outlets and achieved a stockmarket listing. However, the company never made a profit. In the financial year ending March 2006, from a turnover of almost £15 million, the company made a loss of more than £1.4 million.
The need for change
While investors were prepared to forgive a company that was growing rapidly, their patience began to wear thin once the company started to contract as it did from 2003. The catalyst for change came from Steven Bartlett, an established retail entrepreneur. He believed that Coffee Republic could succeed in Plymouth, where he was living, and so he applied for a franchise.
He was surprised to be turned down, and so he applied again. Having been rebuffed a second time, he was much less surprised to discover an online chatroom full of highly disgruntled Coffee Republic shareholders. He became convinced that the company was not being run as well as it could and he resolved to do something about it.
Together with Peter Breach, Bartlett began to acquire shares in the company, and by September 2006, the pair owned 26 per cent of the company. Through the online chatroom they had gathered the support of a further 26 per cent of the shareholding, and so requisitioned an Extraordinary General Meeting to remove the company’s senior management.
The response from the Board was to ask Breach and Bartlett to withdraw the requisition in return for being installed as chairman and chief executive respectively. They agreed and took up their new positions at the end of October 2006.
Bobby Hashemi’s instinct had been correct, and in the eight years after establishing the first ever Coffee Republic on South Molton Street in London, the company grew rapidly, growing to more than a hundred outlets and achieved a stockmarket listing. However, the company never made a profit. In the financial year ending March 2006, from a turnover of almost £15 million, the company made a loss of more than £1.4 million.
The need for change
While investors were prepared to forgive a company that was growing rapidly, their patience began to wear thin once the company started to contract as it did from 2003. The catalyst for change came from Steven Bartlett, an established retail entrepreneur. He believed that Coffee Republic could succeed in Plymouth, where he was living, and so he applied for a franchise.
He was surprised to be turned down, and so he applied again. Having been rebuffed a second time, he was much less surprised to discover an online chatroom full of highly disgruntled Coffee Republic shareholders. He became convinced that the company was not being run as well as it could and he resolved to do something about it.
Together with Peter Breach, Bartlett began to acquire shares in the company, and by September 2006, the pair owned 26 per cent of the company. Through the online chatroom they had gathered the support of a further 26 per cent of the shareholding, and so requisitioned an Extraordinary General Meeting to remove the company’s senior management.
The response from the Board was to ask Breach and Bartlett to withdraw the requisition in return for being installed as chairman and chief executive respectively. They agreed and took up their new positions at the end of October 2006.
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