Hotel Chocolat is an upmarket chocolatier and cocoa grower that trades through around 120 locations across the UK, and international outlets including Denmark, Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York.
The company started out selling chocolates online in 1993, set up Chocolate Tasting Club in 1998, before opening the first-ever Hotel Chocolat store in 2004. In 2006, founders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris bought the 250-year-old Rabot Estate cocoa plantation in Saint Lucia, becoming the only UK company to grow cocoa on its own plantation.
The vast majority of Hotel Chocolat’s operations are standalone stores, but it has also introduced Hotel Chocolat cafes, restaurants, tasting experiences and even a luxury hotel on the plantation in Saint Lucia. It also supplies the likes of Amazon and John Lewis on a wholesale basis.
The company was “born digital” and is a highly profitable business today – it claims to be one of the UK’s earliest etailers, and now generates nearly 20% of its sales online.
In 2016, Hotel Chocolate floated on London’s junior stock market AIM, raising around £55m to accelerate growth.
Specialist retailer Hotel Chocolat has issued its second profit warning of the year, blaming ongoing inflationary pressures and softening consumer sentiment.
Hotel Chocolat is going all in on its new out-of-town format, with plans to open a further five new stores in retail parks before Christmas.
Hotel Chocolat expects sales to be slightly lower than market expectations and underlying profit before tax to break even in the 2023 financial year.
Hotel Chocolat has posted a fall in profits and revenue in its first half as strong UK sales were offset by plummeting international sales.
Hotel Chocolat has named Jon Akehurst as its new chief financial officer and executive board director.
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