Our portfolio company Yolk is already serving well over 10,000 customers per week through its estate of nine profitable outlets in central London and it has just opened a milestone site in High Holborn.

It is changing the game for food and coffee on the go – offering upmarket breakfasts, hot pots, sandwiches, baked goods and coffee, without a premium price tag. Its most popular dishes include the Nduja Club and Steak Béarnaise sandwiches.

The company applies Michelin-level equipment and techniques (such as sous vide and Thermomix), which management believe is unique in this sector – despite being perfectly suited to high-volume, high-quality cookery.

Since our network originally backed Yolk in 2023, it has continued to achieve revenue growth whilst establishing its brand in the high-end grab-and-go food market.

Four new sites were opened in 2024 (the Strand, London Wall, Victoria and New Oxford Street). These openings were partly funded by additional equity raised in the year of £650k from investors including Growthdeck.

In addition to High Holborn, the company is progressing negotiations on further identified sites in high-footfall locations, with two to three more outlets planned for 2025.

It has also signed Heads of Terms with a large global franchise operator, which will give access to prime rail and airport sites, both in the UK and internationally.

The management team continue to develop Yolk’s offering and seeking ways to encourage regular repeat custom.

Challenging the likes of Pret and Leon, they have recently introduced a loyalty and coffee subscription scheme. It has been receiving positive customer interaction and media reviews, with it being described as ‘the best coffee subscription in London’.

Additionally, whilst maintaining Yolk’s core menu, regular limited-time specials (such as the recent Hot Honey Halloumi sandwich) have been introduced to provide increased variety.

The company’s founder, Nick Philpot, was formerly a strategy consultant at Monitor Deloitte, and he has led Yolk from a pop-up to the successful multi-site group it is today.

CFO Rob Murphy has led £100m+ exits across a variety of sectors, and the wider management team have backgrounds with the likes of Le Pain Quotidien, Gordon Ramsay Holdings, Planet Organic, Honest Burgers and Bone Daddies Group, amongst others.

Having successfully rolled out to ten sites, their short-term focus is now on driving in-store sales and transaction value prior to accelerating new site expansion later this year and into 2026.

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