Horsham town centre cafe secures £66k funding

A Horsham town centre coffee shop has secured thousands of pounds of funding to safeguard its future.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Esquires Coffee, has secured £66,570 funding from NatWest as part of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

The funding has enabled owners Gianfranco Trionfetti and his partner Bartlomiej Borowski to invest in COVID-19 protection solutions and outdoor furniture enabling the café to remain open while fully complying with government guidelines.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Over the lockdown period, the business extended opening hours and launched a new menu including cocktails, local and international wines alongside live music performances on the outdoor patio space, allowing customers to comfortably socially distance.

Owners Gianfranco Trionfetti and Bartlomiej BorowskiOwners Gianfranco Trionfetti and Bartlomiej Borowski
Owners Gianfranco Trionfetti and Bartlomiej Borowski

Gianfranco said: “It was always my dream to open my own coffee shop and Esquires Coffee was the perfect cultural fit and already had an established customer base in the area.

“The funding from NatWest has enabled us to transform the premises to reflect our personal style and we have had an incredibly successful year despite the challenges COVID-19 has presented.

“Our focus is always on providing an amazing experience to our customers and a safe, rewarding and empowering working environment to our staff. We are now focusing our efforts into giving back to the community, including our recent sponsorship of the local girls football team, the Horsham Sparrows, and our work with the Hope Charity Project”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Esquires Coffee, which offers homemade and organic food including brunch and early dinner menus also introduced a selection of handmade delicatessen products from Gianfranco’s family in Tuscany.

The cafe can now safely accommodate 80 covers, including al fresco dining. The business has also created five new jobs, doubling the size of the team to keep up with increased demand over the last six months.

In January 2019, Gianfranco and Bartek secured a £125,000 funding package from NatWest to take over ownership of Esquires Coffee Horsham from its previous owners of ten years. The funding was used to retain ten members of staff and complete four weeks of renovations to update the interiors and outdoor patio space, inspired by Italian coffee shops.

The couple are now looking to expand with ambitions to purchase additional locations in the South East and London in early 2021.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Tom Barnes, relationship manager at NatWest added: “We were pleased to support Gianfranco and Bartek in their journey to becoming business owners as they evidently have a passion for excellent customer service and high-quality food. The coffee shop has proven to be a hit with customers and has navigated a difficult time for the hospitality industry by continually adapting. We look forward to supporting the couple with their future expansion plans.”

Founded in 1993 in Vancouver, Esquires Coffee is an established franchise chain and world leader in the ethical and Fairtrade coffee with a community of locally focused coffee houses. The chain hopes to open another ten to 20 stores in the UK and 500 outlets globally by the end of 2021.