The company behind an iconic York café has enjoyed record sales of almost £300million.

Betty’s and Taylors Group, owners of Betty’s Cafe Tea Rooms and makers of Yorkshire Tea, has reported turnover up 14% to £295.7m (up from £260.6m) in the full year to 31 October 2023.

The Harrogate-headquartered company also reports the volume of its produces rose 11%, boosted by its sales of Yorkshire Tea, which now has a record 36.2% share of the UK black tea market.

 Taylors of Harrogate coffee continued to retain its leading position in the roast and ground category with 19.6% value share of the market.

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Accounts posted with Companies House also reveal operating profits rose 14% from £10.3m to £12.4m.

The report said the firm had mitigated rising costs by focussing on efficiency and operational effectiveness. Production costs for tea and coffee fell by 8% per kilo in tandem with a 6% increase in production volume.

The sale of the former Betty’s in Leeds generated £2m. The firm also spent £5.4m in plant machinery and IT systems.

It has also bought two electric vans for deliveries at its sites in Harrogate, as well as a pool of electric cars for staff use.

It also refurbished the Belmont Room at Betty’s in York.

York Press: Outside Betty's in York

The company continued to operate its tea rooms at Harrogate, York, Harlow Carr, Northallerton and Ilkley.

However, staff numbers fell from 1607 to 1515 over the year

The company invested more than £400,000 in charitable and community activities in the UK with a focus on environmental action, such as tree planting and conservation, educational support and community bursaries.

It also launched a new partnership with the Woodland Trust which will see up to 50,000 trees planted at their flagship woodland creation project at Snaizeholme in the Yorkshire Dales.

 Group Finance & Resources Director, Paul Cogan, said: “We have much to be grateful for as our family business has continued to thrive despite the challenging conditions.

"When we started the year, we expected trading to be particularly tough, and we prepared ourselves to weather the storm of high inflation, unfavourable exchange rates, and a cost-of-living crisis. It’s been a year when the creativity and agility of our people, the strength of our brands, and the loyalty of our customers have helped us deliver impressive results.”

He added: "“As a family business that’s over a hundred years old, we continue to adapt, evolve and strengthen our businesses in the face of increasing uncertainty and challenge in the world.

“But we hope that by continuing to put our stakeholders and our values at the heart of how we operate, we will continue to earn the loyalty of customers who see good value in our good values.”