Investment Announcement
Origin Coffee announces a £3.1 million investment to support the growth of the business whilst continuing its commitment to improving sustainability within the industry.
This considerable investment supports and ensures manageable growth of Origin Coffee’s D2C, retail rollout, and expansion of the wholesale channel. As part of the four-year plan, Origin Coffee intends to remain committed to ethical sourcing by increasing direct Green Coffee purchases from farmers by 77%. Closer to home, employment is set to increase with new opportunities across the team including Head Office.
Majority owner and CEO, Tom Sobey said,
‘We take our commitment to sustainability and transparency seriously. The foundation of our business will remain ethical as we grow, and our efforts from the last couple of decades won’t dwindle. Securing investment like this offers us the flexibility and opportunity to take the company forward. We know this is a big step for Origin Coffee and understand that with this growth comes considerable responsibility to our partners, employees, and the wider industry. We’re so excited to grow together with our new partners, as well as our long-time friends and supporters.’
By taking on this sizable investment, the business will sell part of the ownership for the very first time. Sobey will stay as majority shareholder as he retains the most significant portion of ownership and will remain in charge, but be supported by his new partners, which include Create Impact Ventures (CIV), Yeo Valley and The Cornwall & Isle of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF). Tracy Doree of Freddie’s Flowers, Farewill, and Oddbox will join the Origin board as Independent Chair and Non-Executive Director, and David Bernstein, Chairman of CIV, Former Chairman of Manchester City and the Football Association, will also join the Origin Coffee board as non-Executive Director.
As 2024 marks two decades in business, sustainability, quality, and integrity continue to be fundamental to Origin Coffee’s approach, particularly as it expands.
Learn more about Origin's history here
ABOUT CREATE IMPACT VENTURES
Create Impact Ventures (CIV) is a family backed fund that partners with dynamic founders of growth-stage businesses, which are built on strong foundations of ethics and integrity. CIV endeavours to provide strategic support with an objective of accelerating growth and impact potential of its partner companies, leveraging their own entrepreneurial and social impact expertise. Origin Coffee's impressive growth trajectory and strong commitment to sustainability align perfectly with CIV’s values.
ABOUT THE CORNWALL & ISLES OF SCILLY INVESTMENT FUND
The Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF) provides funding to help grow small businesses across the region and is managed on behalf of British Business Bank by The FSE Group. FSE manages funds driven by economic impact and is committed to supporting sustainable businesses that will grow, provide employment, and generate economic benefit in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
ABOUT YEO VALLEY
Yeo Valley Associates supports entrepreneurs who share our passion for creating great products and services to drive change to a more natural, healthy food system in the UK. We care deeply about our own impact and want to partner with people who feel the same. We seek out entrepreneurs who are highly driven, ambitious, and deeply passionate about their purpose.
As thought leaders in regenerative organic farming, we aim to support a diverse range of organisations which share our enthusiasm to help create a better food and farming system. We invest when we can add real value at the right time to make a real difference. We are a flexible minority investor and consider each opportunity on a case-by-case basis.
We can either lead an investment or alternatively co-invest alongside like-minded funders. Our investments have included Wildfarmed, The Curators, Allplants, Equinox, and MOMA Foods.