Tesco buys out Harris & Hoole coffee chain

Supermarket retailer Tesco has bought the remaining stake in coffee chain Harris & Hoole it did not already own.

When Tesco picked up a 49% stake in the artisan coffee business three years ago, the deal included an option to buy the rest.

A spokesman for Tesco said: “We can confirm we have acquired full ownership of Harris & Hoole. We have worked successfully with Harris & Hoole since investing in the business three years ago and will continue to partner with the management board in the future.”

Tesco bought out founders Andrew, Nick and Laura Tolley, although it did not disclose any financial details of the transaction.

For the year ending 1 March 2015, Harris & Hoole – which has over 40 outlets, including 29 in Tesco stores – posted a pre-tax loss of £25.6m compared to £12.8m the previous year.

At 1500 GMT, Tesco shares were up 5.2% to 182.76p.