In our weekly look into the world of business, Luke Pritchard from our Corporate and Commercial team, takes a look at Brains’ decision to ditch it’s coffee chain…

Cardiff based brewery, Brains, looks set to dispose of its chain of coffee shops, Coffee #1.

Coffee #1 has almost 80 outlets and private equity firms have valued the business between £40m and £60m.  Reports suggest that Brains are considering accepting a £50m offer, though they may choose to sell a minority share only.

Any sale of equity is likely to represent a healthy return-on-investment for Brains, who bought Coffee #1 from its founder, James Shapland, in 2001.

It would appear that Brains are betting on the nation’s renewed love of beer outlasting the growing fondness for coffee.