Rob Darby, CEO and co-founder of 200 Degrees Coffee, has been named one of The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders for 2023.
Created by investment partner LDC – part of Lloyds Banking Group, and supported by The Times, The LDC Top 50 champions the business leaders who are pushing for growth and building successful medium-sized businesses.
The leaders featured in The LDC Top 50 are growing their businesses at home and overseas, making a positive contribution to society and driving progress against their sustainability goals. They hail from every corner of the UK and span every sector of the economy. Together, they employ more than 6,700 people and turn over more than £1.2bn.
Rob and his business partner Tom Vincent founded 200 Degrees in 2012, after struggling to find great coffee to serve in their bistros. They set up their roastery opposite Notts County Football Stadium, which is where they continue to roast today.
Over the last 11 years, the roaster has opened 20 distinctive coffee shops across England and Wales with dedicated Barista schools at seven of its locations.
The business has won multiple awards for its coffee, team culture and leadership, and continues to expand all elements of the business, which include wholesale, ecommerce and a home subscription service.
At the heart of 200 Degrees is its 300+ team.
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.”
John Garner, managing partner at LDC, added: “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.
“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!”
