Whittard of Chelsea
Industryretail
Founded1886; 138 years ago (1886)
FounderWalter Whittard
HeadquartersDidcot, Oxfordshire
Number of locations
55
Area served
worldwide
Productstea, coffee, related products
OwnerEpic Private Equity[1]
Websitewhittard.co.uk

Whittard of Chelsea is a British chain of shops selling coffee, tea and related products. It was started by Walter Whittard in 1886, and remained in his family until 1973. In 1996 it was floated on the Alternative Investment Market, and expanded rapidly, building a chain of about 120 shops and several tea rooms.[2]: 195  It went bankrupt in 2008; more than fifty of the shops were closed, and the company was restructured into private equity ownership. [2]: 195  The chain has more than fifty shops in the United Kingdom,[1] and one in Taiwan.[3]

History

The company was started by Walter Whittard, who opened a tea shop in Fleet Street in 1886, and remained in his family until 1973. In 1996 it was floated on the Alternative Investment Market, and used some of the proceeds of the float to expand rapidly, building a chain of about 120 shops and several tea rooms.[2]: 195  It made heavy losses in an attempt to establish an internet sales business, which was closed down in about 2001.[2]: 195  After further financial difficulties, it was sold to the Baugur Group, an Icelandic investment company, in 2005 for about £21 million.[2]: 195  In the year to the end of March 2007, Whittard reported a loss of £3.2 million.[4] Baugur went bankrupt in the Icelandic financial crisis of 2008, and Whittards also went into receivership. It was sold to Epic Private Equity for £600,000. More than fifty of the shops were closed, and the company was restructured.[2]: 195 [4]

In 2016 Whittard opened a tea-bar in its Covent Garden shop.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Case Studies: Whittard of Chelsea. Epic Private Equity. Accessed May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Louise Scholes (2018). Buyouts from failure. In: Mike Wright, Kevin Amess, Nick Bacon, Donald Siegel (2018). The Routledge Companion to Management Buyouts. Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781138713840, pages 186–198.
  3. ^ Liu, Gisele (25 January 2019). "海外第一間專賣店在台灣！英國百年茶「Whittard」進駐微風南山，3款人氣必買經典推薦、同步推出台灣限定款！". ELLE (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b [s.n.] (23 December 2008). Whittard sold to private equity. BBC News.
  5. ^ "Whittard of Chelsea Tea Bar". Covent Garden. 15 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
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