Bakers + Baristas is a fresh bakery and coffee operator with over 65 locations primarily in shopping malls and retail outlet parks in the UK and Ireland.

Headquartered in Limerick, Ireland the business has over 300 employees and is led by James Fleming (Group CEO) and Dermot McMahon (CFO). Causeway Capital’s investment strategy was to enhance value through a combination of investment in the existing and new locations to reposition the business as a branded fresh bakery and coffee retailer.

Investment highlights

Since initial investment, Bakers + Baristas has completed several strategic initiatives to grow sales, improve margins and improve the quality of the overall estate. These have included enhancing the management team by recruiting a new CEO, executing a new store roll out programme, completing a rebranding / refurbishment of the estate and acquiring a competitor (Love Coffee). In addition, Causeway Capital has merged the business with another portfolio investment, Patisserie Valerie, with James Fleming taking up the role of Group CEO. The combined group is expected to realise further synergies as they continue to integrate over the coming months and years.

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