The value-focused coffee chain sold a 30% stake to Bucharest-based Mozaik Investment in 2019 and is seeking new backers to support expansion across Eastern and Central Europe
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5 to go is Romania’s largest branded coffee chain | Photo credit: 5 to go
Bucharest-based 5 to go is in discussions with several investors to sell a further stake in the business.
Founded in 2015 by Radu Savopol and Lucian Bădilă, 5 to go is Romania’s largest branded coffee chain with over 590 sites. The small-format operator sold a 35% stake to private equity firm Mozaik Investments in December 2019, with Savopol and Bădilă retaining a joint majority stake.
Any sale will see both 5 to go and Mozaik Investment sell shares, but neither party will exit the business, Savopol told Romanian news agency Profit. A sale is likely to be finalised within the next few months, he added.
“The deal is not signed yet but this year there were several discussions with several funds. We still have 60% of the company, we will probably sell some of our shares and Mozaik will probably sell some of its shares. But Mozaik Investment is not leaving, it is still with us,” he said.
Bulgarian venture capital firm Invenio Partners and Warsaw-based Accession Capital Partners (ACP) are among the investors in talks with 5 to go, according to Romanian financial newspaper Ziarul Financiar. 5 to go would be the first coffee chain investment for either firm.
Any potential stake sale will enable 5 to go to accelerate international expansion. The value-focused coffee chain currently operates four stores in Hungary alongside single sites in Bulgaria and Moldova.
In October 2024, 5 to go outlined plans to open 50 franchised stores in Moldova by 2028 as part of wider plans to scale its presence across Eastern and Central Europe. It is also in negotiations over locations for a Slovakian debut.
The total Romanian branded coffee shop market comprises more than 950 outlets, with World Coffee Portal’s Project Café Europe 2024 research forecasting the market will exceed 1,500 outlets in the first quarter of 2029.
In October 2024, fellow Bucharest-based coffee chain Ted’s Coffee revealed it was in negotiations with investors with Vasi Andreica expecting to sell a 30%-60% stake in the business in 2025.