Caffè Nero is a European coffee house brand specialising in the creation of high quality Italian coffee. Sales for the group, in the 12 months to May 31, 2015 were £243 m, with an operating profit of £17.8 m. Finance costs of £42 m and a share of a joint venture loss led to a pre-tax loss of £28.4 m. Caffè Nero is part of a wider group called Rome Pikco. Rome Pikco’s ultimate parent company is Saratoga, which is incorporated in the Isle of Man.

"Caffè Nero has been part of the coffee culture revolution and has helped raise the bar on the coffee quality available to consumers through the introduction of hand-crafted artisan coffee in hundreds of towns and cities in Europe and Middle East. Through this, Caffè Nero has become one of the best recognised and most admired coffee house brands in the world.

Gerry Ford founded Caffè Nero in 1997….five retail sites in London … by the end of 2000, the Nero team had built 31 cafes and established the company as a national brand. We also 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, and in 2004 another 12 sites were acquired from Coffee Republic and integrated into the family.

In 2005 …Gerry Ford was named "UK Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Financial Times and London Stock Exchange.

In early 2007, we took Caffè Nero private again, purchasing a majority equity position and removing Caffè Nero from the LSE. … in 2007 we completed our first country expansion into Turkey and at the same time launched a new Nero Express concept within train stations in the UK.

In 2009 we opened our first stores in The United Arab Emirates, and in 2012, we started an exciting partnership in Poland to create Green Caffè Nero with the first store opening in the Lublin Union Square, Warsaw.

In 2013 we opened our first beach cafe in Larnaca, Cyprus. consumer magazine Which? in its first ever taste test.

Caffè Nero opens one new store a week and now has over 700 stores globally with more than 5,000 skilled baristas and support team.”