What Rob Darby did next...

Life after selling coffee chain 200 Degrees, all eyes are on the founders next investment

Hello Rainmakers,

What you tell us this. You want to know about the entrepreneurs, the drivers behind the deals, and also what they’re going to do next once they’ve done a deal.

Here you go then. Here’s Rob Darby, sat down with our own Sam Metcalf to tell all about the deal to sell to Nero Group and the tech driven app he’s investing his efforts into now.

What exactly do you do when you've sold one of the fast-growing indie coffee chains in the country?

We caught up with ex-200 Degrees Coffee co-owner Rob Darby to find out what he's going to be doing after his company was sold to Caffe Nero.

"What I won't miss is the M1," says the avuncular Rob Darby, as we sit sipping coffee in the Flying Horse Walk branch of 200 Degrees in Nottingham.

This was the very first 200 Degrees shop - just off the Old Market Square in the city. Since it was opened over a decade ago, Darby has done some miles up and down the country, growing the brand across the Midlands and North.

"I've done a lot of miles over the last decade," he says. "I'm looking forward to spending less time in the car. I own some woodland and with the time I now have I'm hoping to make some oak furniture from it."

What started as an independent coffee house, 200 Degrees has become the recognised meeting point in the 21 cities where it has a presence, gaining a particular cache amongst serious coffee connoisseurs, notably in Manchester, Leeds, Leicester, Cardiff, Derby and Liverpool.