Coffee Republic has launched its version of the Flat White espresso based coffee drink after an extensive nationwide staff training programme.

Made with a double shot espresso topped with creamy textured hot milk, the Flat White has long been popular in the Antipodes and has now caught the mood of coffee drinkers in the UK.

Coffee Republic owner Tariq Affara believes the new Flat White packs the taste that his customers are looking for: “This is a welcome addition to the range and one that has been in demand by our customers for some time. Our coffee is prized for its rich and complex flavour, and the technique we use in preparing the Flat White allows the taste to come through the milk immediately making it a different experience from others on the market. The smaller size of the drink is also likely to be appealing to a good number of people. I don’t think it will take long to catch on.”

The Coffee Republic will create between eight and 10 jobs and should open its doors at Lovegate House on Highweek Way in early March.

Sally Henley, Newton Abbot town development manager, said: “This is great news for the town.

“Coffee Republic will, I am sure, fast become a destination.

“It was a stroke of genius to envision this building as a home for a contemporary and stylish, famous, coffee shop brand.

Matt Hotchkiss, who will run the franchise of Coffee Republic, said: “We thought it would be a great place for a coffee shop.

“Downtown Newton Abbot doesn’t have anything similar, the only other coffee bar is the Costa on the high street, two blocks away.”

Refurbishment work is currently taking place at the Grade II listed Georgian building, which is owned by the Caunter family.

Arab Investments intends to commit substantial capital into developing the Coffee Republic brand and will be embarking on further expansion of the branch network which currently includes 80 outlets, of which 20 are outside the UK, including Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia.

Richard Hill, joint administrator and KPMG partner, said: “I’m delighted that we have agreed the sale of Coffee Republic, rescuing a substantial part of the business and protecting 62 jobs. While coffee shops face tough competition on the High Street in these challenging economic times, the amount of interest we received in Coffee Republic is testament to the strength of the brand. I would like to thank the company’s employees and suppliers who have supported the business over the past three weeks, and helped us to achieve this successful outcome.”

Khalid Affara of Arab Investments, said: “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of Coffee Republic today and we intend to start growing the business with immediate effect.

Coffee Republic has a very strong brand name and we are bringing additional investment into the company to expand the number of retail outlets in the UK and elsewhere.”

Arab Investments is a substantial privately owned property investment company based in London.

Arab Investments Ltd was advised on the acquisition by Fiona Hamilton, Business Recovery Partner and Head of Scottish Retail at King Sturge who said: “This deal is the UK’s largest coffee acquisition and we were delighted to be able to introduce our client to KPMG. We have provided operational and strategic acquisition advice and will continue to advise Arab Investments on strategy moving forward.”

Arab Investments, a private property company best known for plans to build a London skyscraper, has completed the acquisition of Coffee Republic, the coffee shop chain, from administration.

The company, which is planning to build one of the tallest buildings in London at the Pinnacle in the City of London, will today confirm the acquisition for an undisclosed amount. Administrator KPMG has been in talks to sell the business to Arab Investments for two weeks.

Arab Investments said that it would commit “substantial capital” into developing the Coffee Republic brand, and will embark on further expansion of the branch network. Coffee Republic operates 80 outlets, of which 20 are outside the UK, including Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia.

Khalid Affara, who runs Arab Investments in the UK, said: “We intend to start growing the business with immediate effect.

“Coffee Republic has a strong brand name and we are bringing additional investment into the company to expand the number of retail outlets in the UK and elsewhere.”

Richard Hill, joint administrator and KPMG partner, said that a substantial part of the business had been rescued, protecting 62 jobs. He said: “While coffee shops face tough competition on the high street in these challenging economic times, the amount of interest we received in Coffee Republic is testament to the strength of the brand.”

Further to the announcement of 13 July, the administrators of Coffee Republic and its subsidiaries have granted a period of exclusivity to the preferred purchaser of all or parts of the business. The terms of the exclusivity agreement and the identity of the potential purchaser are confidential.

Commenting on this development, Joint Administrator Richard Hill of KPMG LLP said: “As expected, the huge volume of enquiries from interested parties produced a very healthy level of offers. We have spent the last few days clarifying the terms of the most attractive offers and we have now identified our preferred purchaser. We have agreed a period of exclusivity to allow that party to carry out some limited due diligence which should enable us to agree the terms of the sale of the residual business as a going concern during the course of next week.”

All parties who submitted offers are being informed of the situation but no further information will be released until after the expiry of the exclusivity period.

A further update will be made in due course.

The property company behind plans for one of London’s tallest skyscrapers has emerged as the surprise potential buyer of Coffee Republic.

Arab Investments, a private property investment company best known for its proposed Pinnacle tower in the City of London, on Friday entered into an exclusivity agreement with KPMG, which is acting as administrator to the coffee shop chain.

If successful, Arab Investments intends to put money into developing the Coffee Republic brand in the UK and overseas, and will start expanding the branch network immediately after completing the deal. It is thought to be in talks to acquire about 80 outlets, of which 20 are outside the UK, in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Bulgaria.

Arab Investments is thought to see the chain as having a strong brand name, which can be grown to challenge larger chains such as Starbucks and Costa. The deal is thought to be largely opportunistic, with the owners of Arab Investments seeing the chance to buy a large chain of leasehold outlets at a cheap price. No financial details of the transaction were provided.

KPMG confirmed that it had granted a period of exclusivity to the preferred purchaser of Coffee Republic, but declined to comment on the identity of the buyer.

Joint administrator Richard Hill said: “As expected, the huge volume of enquiries from interested parties produced a very healthy level of offers. We have spent the last few days clarifying the terms of the most attractive offers and we have now identified our preferred purchaser.

“We have agreed a period of exclusivity to allow that party to carry out some limited due diligence, which should enable us to agree the terms of the sale of the residual business as a going concern during the course of next week.”

Richard Hill and David Crawshaw were appointed Joint Administrators of Coffee Republic (UK) Ltd, Coffee Republic Franchising Ltd and Goodbean Ltd on 7 July 2009.

Richard Hill and David Crawshaw were appointed Joint Administrators of Coffee Republic Plc 10 July 2009.

The firm’s outlet in Gloucester Road, London, closed shortly before the administrators were appointed.

The remaining nine coffee bars continue to trade as normal. The 70 outlets franchised through Coffee Republic Franchising Ltd and 97 concessions which operate within cinemas, retail outlets and hotels throughout the UK, are not in administration and are also continuing to trade as normal.

Richard Hill, KPMG partner and joint administrator said: “Following our assessment of the Coffee Republic (UK) Ltd-owned outlets we have had to take the decision to close those which are no longer viable to leave the profitable parts of the business remaining. We are now in discussions with interested parties with a view to selling the remaining business as a going concern. There has been huge interest already from potential purchasers and I remain confident of achieving a sale during the course of next week.”

Ten of the 20 outlets directly owned by coffee chain Coffee Republic have closed with the loss of 66 jobs, the firm’s administrators have said.

The news comes two days after the company went into administration.

Tuesday’s move has not affected the 167 Coffee Republic outlets that are either owned by franchisees or are concessions in cinemas and hotels.

Administrator KPMG said it was now in talks with potential buyers for the firm, and had received “huge interest”.

KPMG also confirmed that another one of the 20 directly owned stores, the outlet in London’s Gloucester Road, had already closed just before it was appointed.

It said the remaining nine would trade as normal while it continued discussions with potential buyers for the company.

“I remain confident of achieving a sale during the course of next week,” said KPMG partner Richard Hill.

Coffee Republic had directly employed 153 staff.

The franchised branch of Coffee Republic, in the High Street, will not be affected. A member of staff at the coffee shop, said: “We have been told we will be safe. Even if the franchised coffee shops go, we are only using the brand so we will still be able to run it as a coffee shop.”

Although the chain has 187 outlets worldwide, only the 20 wholly owned by Coffee Republic are understood to be affected by the administration – while as in Maidenhead, the rest are owner-run franchise businesses.

Coffee Republic Franchising, the company which administers the franchises, has also collapsed but administrator KPMG said the franchised coffee shops are standalone businesses and will continue to trade normally.