Mobile coffee is perking up!
Reporter: Martyn Torr
Date published: 07 December 2011
FANCY a brew? Joanna and Liam enjoy one of their own Fairtrade coffees
THREE people who invested in a coffee business three years ago have reached a critical point in their development — and are looking at the next stage of their business plan.
Liam Whitehead and his partner Joanna Billington, from Chadderton, and David Iaonnou, from Halifax, invested £25,000 to create Perk Up, a mobile coffee and snacks business.
A fourth investor, David’s partner Karen Dominiak, has since left the business to open her own coffee shop, and premises could be the next step for the Perk Up brand.
Liam (32), who continues to work full-time, helped create the Perk Up concept which has turned a profit year on year.
He said: “The four of us were talking about business and opportunities and saw a niche with the growth and development of Metrolink.
“We reasoned that all those commuters would welcome a coffee at the beginning — or even end — of their journey and so we came up with the mobile coffee concept.”
They won a competitive tender to claim a weekend pitch at Chorlton Water Park, which has proved popular and profitable and led to a raft of bookings for events across south Manchester.
Liam and Joanna alternate their weekends with David in the quirky vehicle at the water park and the partners also work every bank holiday — while holding down full-time jobs.
In addition to Fairtrade coffee — including their signature brew, a Spanish cordado — they offer teas, juices and light snacks.
Liam has built quite a following on Twitter — @perkupcoffee1 — and customers producing his tweets on their mobiles earn a discount on their purchases.
“We are now at a point where we have to decide our next step in the development of the business,” he added.
“We have looked at franchising the brand, because we know it works and have also discussed opening a coffee shop if we can find the right premises.
“We have also started getting bookings from parents’ evenings at schools and these are proving really popular,” said Liam.
