Cafedirect launches share issue

The UK’s largest fair trade drinks company Cafedirect has launched a public share issue, which it hopes will raise £5m (€7.3m).

The minimum investment is £300 (€438) and a Cafedirect spokesman said: "We have hopeful expectations that the share issue will go well, there has been a lot of interest in the run-up."

The company pays its 250,000 coffee, tea and cocoa producers in the developing world guaranteed fair prices, which can be often double or triple the current market price big international coffee companies pay.

As well as paying guaranteed prices, the company also makes long-term investment in its producer partners' organisations.

Cafedirect products are sold in most supermarket chains in Ireland and also in Spar, Centra

and Oxfam outlets.