Taylor St Baristas plans to raise £3 million through the launch of the UK’s first crowdfunded “Coffee Bond”.
The bond is live on Crowdcube and is the fifth mini-bond to launch on the UK’s leading crowdfunding platform.
Taylor St plans to double the size of its business over the next two years, with funds gained being used to open four shops in 2015, and a further six shops in 2016.
According to market research firm Allegra Strategies, 32% of consumers now choose their coffee shop based on “quality” – up from 23% in 2009. This is seen to be one of the most dominant consumer trends in an industry that is set to top £8bn in turnover by 2017.
“This is a great time for Taylor St to be growing its business,” says Taylor St CEO Richard Shaer. “Every day, we’re seeing new people walk through our doors in search of better coffee, and the size of this “quality” segment is only getting bigger. As one of London’s leading specialty coffee houses, we’re exceptionally placed to benefit from this consumer trend towards quality coffee.”
In a first for the coffee industry, bondholders can elect to have their coupon paid in the form of store credit at the rate of 12% per annum.
“So many of our regulars have asked to get more involved in Taylor St. Something like this will give them just that opportunity. It’ll allow them to benefit directly from the support they daily give our business,” said Mr Shaer.
Alternatively, bondholders can choose to have their coupon paid in cash at the rate of 8% per annum.
Luke Lang, co-founder and CEO of Crowdcube said, “Mini-bonds enable companies like Taylor St to raise growth capital and involve their customers in the business. Until now, however, launching a mini-bond has been a time-consuming and expensive process. Crowdcube’s Mini Bond takes away the complexity and costs for businesses. For customers and investors, the opportunity to invest in companies they already know, and want to support, as well as receive a regular financial return on their investment, can be hugely appealing.”
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Our history with Bonds
- Our first Bond was Chilango’s Burrito Bond, which raised more than double its initial target of £1m, thanks to 709 investors.
- The fastest raise for a Crowdcube Bond was the Eden Project, raising £1.5m in less than 24 hours. Investors were offered 6% gross interest per annum over the four-year term of the bond. Investments are in multiples of £500 and there was no upper limit.
- Taylor Street Baristas, one of London’s favorite coffee houses and a trailblazer in the city’s specialty coffee scene, raised £1.8m with its “Coffee Bond” to double the size of its business over the next two years. Bondholders could elect to have their coupon paid in the form of store credit at the rate of 12% per annum or cash at the rate of 8% per annum.
- Cult coffee and cocktail chain Grind raised £1.3m from 447 investors thanks to their 2015 Bond. In September 2019 it was announced that the team would be repaying investors from their 2015 raise in full, one year ahead of the bonds’ expiry. You can read more on that, here.
- Pocket Living (now Pocket Land), the pioneering property developer delivering affordable homes in London, has completed two bonds with us. In 2015 they offered investors 7.5% interest per annum over the 4-year term, attracting investment from 335 people and raising £1.5m. In 2016 they raised £2.5m thanks to 448 investors, offering them 10% gross interest per annum over four years.
- Australian brunch spot Daisy Green raised £773,000 with their 2015 bond. Their Bondi Bond offered investors interest at 11% over a term of four years.
- As part of their Equity for Punks campaign, BrewDog has launched two Mini-Bonds with us. Their first, in 2015, raised a total of £2.31m with help from 815 investors. Investors were offered 6.5% per annum over a 4-year term. Their 2016 Mini-Bond offered investors 7.5% over 4 years, generating a massive £10m from 2699 Equity Punks. In 2017 BrewDog became our first-ever Funded Club Unicorn!
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Unfortunately, two businesses that’ve completed bonds with us are no longer trading. Taylor Street Baristas and Square Pie have closed their doors after rising on Crowdcube in 2015.
So far, investors have received a total of over £6.7m in interest payments from the companies above. River Cottage, Eden Project, Grind, and Daisy Green have all redeemed their bonds, with investors paid back in full.
“Mini-bonds enable companies like Taylor St to raise growth capital and involve their customers in the business,” said Luke Lang, co-founder and CEO of Crowdcube. “Until now, however, launching a mini-bond has been a time-consuming and expensive process. Crowdcube’s Mini Bond takes away the complexity and costs for businesses. For customers and investors, the opportunity to invest in companies they already know, and want to support, as well as receive a regular financial return on their investment, can be hugely appealing.”
To invest in this bond you can visit: www.crowdcube.com/tsb.