Coffee Republic's decision to restructure its business and shift focus to a deli-style operation was justified this week as it reported more than an £8m reduction in losses in the year to 28 March.
During the period the company sold off 17 outlets and began converting a few coffee bars to its new deli-bar format.
The £1.7m loss compares favourably with a £9.8m loss in the previous financial year. As a result of the sell-offs, sales also fell by 27% to £22m, while like-for-like sales were 2.3% down.
Since the year-end, Coffee Republic has sold a further 10 sites and now has 55 stores. A further five are earmarked for disposal.
It has converted four of the remaining sites to the new deli-bar format and plans to convert six more by the end of March next year.