The boss of a successful East Midlands coffee producer and coffee shop chain has been named one of the best chief executives in Britain. Rob Darby, CEO and co-founder of Nottingham-based 200 Degrees Coffee, has made it on to The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders for 2023 list.
The annual rundown is put together by investment partner LDC – which is part of Lloyds Banking Group – and is supported by The Times. It champions business leaders behind successful medium-sized businesses.
Rob and his business partner Tom Vincent have overseen substantial growth at 200 Degrees Coffee since it was launched just over a decade ago, expanding into more than 20 cities including Leicester, Birmingham, Leeds, Lincoln, Cardiff and Manchester.
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They founded the business after struggling to find good coffee to serve in their bistros, creating a roastery opposite Notts County Football Stadium, which is where they continue to roast today. The business now employs more than 300 people.
Rob said: “We’ve created a true point of difference with the quality of our coffee at 200 Degrees and that’s down to our skilled team. They continue to innovate and evolve to ensure our customer experience remains high and constant.
“Being included in The LDC Top 50 has been an opportunity to look back at how far we have come as a company, and to be included amongst so many incredible leaders has been humbling and a real highlight, but I didn’t do this on my own, so I want to dedicate this acknowledgment to the whole 200 Degrees team.”
The leaders featured in The LDC Top 50 span every sector of the economy and between them employ more than 6,700 people and turn over more than £1.2 billion.
LDC managing partner John Garner said: “We started The LDC Top 50 six years ago to champion the remarkable success stories of medium-sized businesses, the unsung heroes of the British economy.
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“Since then, we’ve received more than 3,000 nominations and celebrated more than 500 business leaders through the programme, surpassing all our expectations.
“Every leader in this year’s cohort has a story as impressive as the next, and I’d like to congratulate them on their achievements so far. We can’t wait to see where they go from here.”