Caffi Florence

Caffi Florence is an award winning café, specialising in fresh, seasonal, homemade and locally sourced produce, based at Loggerheads Country Park near Mold.

A co-operative of seven café employees purchased the popular Caffi Florence in Loggerheads Country Park. The previous owner had been keen that the café continued using the principles of local food sourcing and preparation from scratch. Passing the business on to the employees was undoubtedly the best way to achieve this. She had discussed the potential for employee ownership at a very early stage, identifying a core group who would be able to step up to the demands of running the business. The knowledge that the staff were keen to take over and that they had the skills to do so helped her to make the final decision to leave.

The new owners believe that they have the potential to take the business and grow it further using the principles set out by its original owner.

Caffi Florence is a sustainable business that has been run on strong ethical lines and with high quality standards for a number of years. The success of the business under the new ownership proves how important the employees are to the sustainability and growth potential of any business.

Staff from Social Business Wales were able to broker this business transition as a result of funding from the Welsh Government and European Union.

The deal benefited from the support of Denbighshire County Council who own the café premises and backed the formation of the co-operative.

Many successful businesses fail because succession is handled badly. This can lead to job losses, losing supplier contracts and even business closures. Social Business Wales has expertise in succession planning and guiding businesses through the employee buy-out process.

For more information on our free tailored support call 03000 6 03000 and ask for Social Business Wales