Worker co-operative buys out popular Mold Café

A co-operative of seven café employees has purchased the popular Caffi Florence in Loggerheads Country Park from its owner.

The members of the co-operative decided to take advantage of the opportunity of purchasing the award winning business when its previous owner decided to step away from the business.

Caffi Florence is an award winning café, specialising in fresh, seasonal, homemade and locally sourced produce, based at Loggerheads Country Park near Mold. The deal has safeguarded over 15 jobs and a number of seasonal positions at the Country Park venue.

Nicola Price-Rohan is one of the new owners,

“We are delighted to take over Caffi Florence. As a co-operative we believe that we have the potential to take the business and grow it further using the principles set out by its original owner. As owners of the business we can plan for the future and ensure that Caffi Florence offers great food and great service at Loggerheads Country Park for a long time to come”.

Jane Clough, the previous owner was keen that the café continued using the principles of local food sourcing and preparation from scratch. Passing the business on to the employees was undoubtedly the best way to achieve this. She had discussed the potential for employee ownership at a very early stage, identifying a core group who would be able to step up to the demands of running the business. The knowledge that the staff were keen to take over and that they had the skills to do so helped her to make the final decision to leave.

She commented,

“It is great to know that the key principles of Caffi Florence are in safe hands and the new owners will be able to keep the business going and grow it in future years”.

Sarah Owens from the Wales Co-operative Centre supported the creation of the new co-operative and oversaw the ownership transition process. She was delighted that the new owners were able to take the keys to the café at the end of February,

“Caffi Florence is a sustainable business that has been run on strong ethical lines and with high quality standards for a number of years. That the business is taken over by the staff is consistent with these principles. This just goes to prove how important the employees are to the sustainability and growth potential of any business. This buy-out has ensured that over 15 jobs in the area are maintained and safeguarded”.

The Wales Co-operative Centre was able to broker this business transition as a result of funding from the Welsh Government and European Union to support its Business Succession service.

The deal was supported by Chris Inson of Cardiff based Capital Law. Chris was integral in supporting the employees with specialised legal advice and in overseeing the legal completion of the deal.

The deal benefited from the support of Denbighshire County Council who own the café premises and have backed the formation of the co-operative.

The creation of the new worker co-operative comes at a key time for co-operative development in Wales. A Welsh Government Commission recently reported on the potential for developing co-operative businesses in Wales and specifically recommended a comprehensive mix of specialist support and advice for co-operatives and mutuals.

Employee Ownership is currently high on the UK political agenda. A Capital Gains Tax incentive designed to encourage business owners to consider employee ownership models as part of their succession planning is a key element of the UK Finance Bill which should receive parliamentary assent in the Summer of 2014.