Black Sheep Coffee to double in size with backing of NBA star

Independent café chain Black Sheep Coffee is planning to double the size of its estate to around 100 sites by the end of summer 2022.

The company has secured funding from Latvian basketball player Kristaps Porzingis, who plays in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks, to support an entry into the US market.

Black Sheep Coffee was founded by Eirik Holth and Gabriel Shohet in 2013 and trades from more than 30 sites in London. It has more than 50 stores in total in locations including Paris, Manila, Manchester and Glasgow.

The chain is also expanding in the UK and last week launched four London locations, as well as cafes in Windsor and Birmingham’s Mailbox.

Black Sheep uses speciality grade Robusta coffee and purchases beans directly from the plantations, looking after the picking, drying and washing process.

It has raised more than £30m funding from independent backers since its launch and Porzingis’ investment forms part of its latest £5m funding round, which is due to close on 8 November.

Holth and Shohet said: “We’ve only ever raised money from individuals who share our company values. When we met Kristaps in Dallas, we hit it off right away and we couldn’t be happier to count him on board the Black Sheep team that every day is growing bigger and stronger.”

The company’s other backers include Tellef Thorleifsson, one of the original investors in Spotify, Coca-Cola Beverages Canada president Bill Schultz, and World Series of Poker players Martin Jacobson and Mustapha Kanit.