Seneca Partners’ EIS Portfolio Service investment, 23.5 Degrees Ltd, a portfolio of 75 drive-through and traditional franchised Starbucks coffee stores, has seen sales surge by over 50% compared with pre-Covid levels.
The company emerged from the first six-week period of enforced lockdown last Spring to increased demand – bucking trends seen in the wider leisure and hospitality sector – and continues to deliver strong trading results.
Backed by Seneca Partners and Connection Capital, 23.5 Degrees is a typical beneficiary of the ‘takeaway and social distancing’ culture which looks set to become an increasingly new way of life.
Seneca Partners’ Investment Director, Matt Currie commented: ‘’Whilst this outperformance may be viewed as temporary, there is no doubt that the drive-through culture appeals to changing consumer habits and meets many of the social distancing requirements of the new world we are all becoming used to.
“The results are consistently evident across the whole store portfolio and shows how well managed, and funded businesses, which were hit by the initial lockdown a year ago, have proved their resilience and come back strongly.’’
