The UK coffee chain, which operates in transport hubs across the UK and Ireland, has struggled to recover from a £13m sales drop during the pandemic
AMT Coffee’s sales fell 63% in 2020 to £7.6m following the UK government’s working-from-home guidance | Photo credit: AMT Coffee
AMT Coffee is set to appoint Interpath Advisors as administrators after heavily reduced footfall at its transport hub locations during the pandemic caused revenues to plummet.
Founded in 1993, the company operates approximately 40 sites in transport hubs and hospitals across the UK and Ireland.
AMT Coffee had hired Interpath Advisors to help it find fresh funding, but the advisory firm is now expected to manage the administration process.
The company’s sales fell 63% in 2020 to £7.6m ($8.7m) following the UK government’s working-from-home guidance and travel restrictions across the country for much of the year.
AMT Coffee’s reliance on commuter trade prompted an annual loss of £3.2m ($3.7m), compared to £1.1m ($1.3m) the year previous.
The latest set of accounts for the business from March 2022 indicate 'a need for investment in the company to enable it to rebuild, grow and restore its reputation with its creditors and stakeholders'.
The documents state that AMT Coffee was negotiating a new line of debt for the business, of up to £2m, with the drawdown of those funds based on the performance of the business in 2022.
AMT Coffee appointed Matt Cundrick as Managing Director in October 2022 and set about revisiting outlet expansion plans.
“We’ve been working with our advisors at Interpath to explore options to safeguard the future of our business in the UK and Ireland and, last week, filed court documents that will help us in progressing a transaction, which we’re confident we’ll be able to deliver. In the meantime, it’s very much business as usual,” he told the Irish Independent.
In August 2021 AMT Coffee announced a new partnership with social enterprise coffee brand Change Please.
Having been acquired by property entrepreneur David Maxwell in June 2021, AMT Coffee said the new partnership would help double the coffee chain’s portfolio to 100 stores by 2024.