russellmcquillan.com

I have been working with ‘the streat’ for nearly two year’s now, providing a complimentary Wi-Fi service to customers in their key stores.  They are a local success story started by Michael and wife Nikki McQuillan (of no relation).

The business started from just one store in Belfast in 1999 to a massive franchised coffee and sandwich store chain with over 30 locations in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.  Their stores are fresh, clean and provide good food at reasonable prices.

Their support network and business start plans and assistance are what keeps them alive and makes choosing them as a franchise a no brainer, over the past 10 years they have won several training awards and pride themselves on brand and quality.

Today it was announced that they are selling the group to Henderson’s another massive F&B company in Northern Ireland and another success story in the Northern Ireland food and bev industry.

Damien Barrett, managing director of its food service arm, said the group had extensive franchise experience through the Spar and Vivo brands and had been actively seeking growth opportunities in that area. The food service division already supplies the catering industry with frozen and grocery products.

“The Streat offers an attractive proposition as a very successful and well-run business whose company ethos and ambitions echo our own.

“As a local wholesaler we see this as a very positive investment in a local brand which will bring mutual benefit,” he said.

“As well as stand-alone cafes, at present we have two Streat franchises within Spar stores and we will continue to explore this as a collective opportunity. The partnership also has the potential to boost trade for local suppliers as we service the needs of the chain throughout Ireland and Scotland.”

On January 1st 2010, the streat became a part of the incredibly successful Henderson Group of Companies. This Top Northern Ireland Company owns the Spar and Vivo franchises in Northern Ireland and has a turnover in excess of £500m and employs over 2000 people.

The Henderson group were attracted by the strength of the streat brand, the quality of the franchise network, the support structure and the potential for future growth, and they will be investing substantially in the Brand in the coming years.

I think this is an important deal in the Northern Ireland hospitality industry and I think we will see more joint ventures between suppliers and retails as the industry continues to strive to deliver excellent quality at affordable prices.

Best of luck guys

Russell