Seven bakeries down. Thirteen to go.
- Over £1.5M raised.
- Seven bakeries. 2,500 loaves a week. Queues every morning before we open.
- 600+ investors, most of them started as customers.
- Register your interest in future investment rounds.
Our latest round is closed. Leave your details if you'd like to hear about future investment rounds. Registering your interest is not a commitment to invest.
Investing carries risk, including loss of capital. Read the full risk warning.
Traction That Speaks for Itself
Bakeries
plus a production bakery in two railway arches at Spa Terminus
Loaves a week
baked fresh on site, every day
Investors
most of them started as customers
Repeat customers
sector average is 50 to 55%
Views a month
on Instagram alone
Gross margin
achieved through low wastage
What We Have Delivered Since Our Last Round
What we've delivered since our last raise, and what's coming next
Primrose Hill
Opened 2026, trading ahead of plan.
Covent Garden
16 Neal's Yard, opened 29th July 2026.
Spa Terminus production bakery
7,000 sq ft across two railway arches, now live, unlocking wholesale and faster openings.
Beyond the bakeries
Sophia on BBC Saturday Kitchen, a Bloomsbury book publishing in 2027 across the UK, US and Germany, and 270k+ Instagram followers built organically.
Britain Is Starving for Proper Bread
The Industrial Reality
- 92% of UK bread is industrially produced. [Source: Federation of Bakers, 2023]
- 12 to 18 additives per supermarket loaf
- Many chains trading as artisan bake from frozen dough
- Real bread has become a rarity
What People Actually Want
When Londoners discover authentic sourdough, they queue for hours. They return every single week. They bring their friends, their families, their neighbours.
This isn't a trend. It's a hunger for something real in a world of shortcuts.
The Sourdough Sophia Difference
Long-fermented sourdough with zero additives. Just three ingredients: flour, water, and salt. Every loaf baked fresh on-site daily, from our signature sourdough to cinnamon cruffins, cross-laminated bows, and pain au chocolat. Real bread, real ingredients, real craft.
Why Sourdough Sophia Wins
Gail's
Economic model: high-volume, corporate-backed, margin-driven
Positioning: premium mass-market convenience. Premium pricing, upmarket feel, polished corporate presence.
Ole & Steen
Economic model: franchise-led, imported brand, standardised product
Positioning: cool Scandi aesthetic, imported Danish flair.
Sourdough Sophia
Economic model: 72% gross margin, £400k build cost, payback inside two years, 82% weekly repeat rate
Positioning: family, home, community. Our team know your dog's name, community cards for locals, exclusive VIP pins for loyal customers.
We are not competing on price, convenience or cool factor. We are building a bakery that belongs to its neighbourhood, and the economics follow: 82% of customers return every week against a sector average of 50 to 55%, a 72% gross margin, and £400k to build a site that pays itself back inside two years.
Community is in our DNA
We were born from our community, built by it, and continue to grow with it. Everything we do is for the people who shaped us: our guests, team, investors and suppliers. We've connected to our community in the deepest way, and this sets us apart from the crowd.
Sophia has been baking with her Dad since she was 5 years old
She set up a lockdown bakery in her dining room
Jesse delivered loaves around the neighbourhood in North London
Simple, repeatable, high-return sites.
All-In Build Cost
£400k per location
Year One Revenue
£700k with 72% gross margin
Payback Period
Each site pays back in 18 to 22 months
Mature Site Economics
£1M+ net revenue per year once fully ramped, after year three
The Growth Engine
Prime sites secured and open
Primrose Hill and Covent Garden both opened in 2026. Other key locations in London in negotiation.
Launch ritual, proven twice this year
10,000 hand-delivered invites. Sophia personally greets 350+ people on day one. Instagram and local groups do the rest, and press follows.
Community flywheel
82% of customers return every week, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of loyalty and growth.
Central bakery live
Our 7,000 sq ft Spa Terminus production bakery is open, unlocking wholesale and two to three times faster site openings.
The Five-Year Plan
2025
4 bakeries. The model proven.
2026, where we are now
7 bakeries open, a production bakery live, and wholesale launched.
2027
The next sites open sooner, supported by our completed raise.
2028
16 bakeries across London's best neighbourhoods.
2029
Our ambition is to reach 20 bakeries by 2029. Growth plans and forecasts are not guaranteed.
The Risks
We think this is a strong business. We also think you deserve a plain account of what could go wrong.
Site-level execution as the estate grows
Each new site adds operational complexity. We have built a central production bakery at Spa Terminus specifically to standardise quality and reduce the burden on individual sites.
Cost inflation on flour, energy and labour
Input costs have risen across the sector. Our 72% gross margin gives us headroom, and our central bakery reduces per-unit costs as volume grows.
Dependence on the founders' profile
Sophia and Jesse are central to the brand. We are building systems, a senior team and a culture that can operate independently of any individual.
Illiquidity of the shares
This is a private company. There is no guaranteed market for your shares. You should only invest money you can afford to leave invested for several years.
What Our Investors Say
It’s the only thing I have ever invested in and you have made me really proud I did it.
Jacob - Highgate - investor since 2025
I was delighted to initially invest in Sourdough Sophia to support a local business, and one I was a big fan of.
Derek - Primrose Hill - investor since 2024
The Team Behind It
Sophia Handschuh
Co-founder & CEO
Baking with Dad since age 5, built 270k+ Instagram following organically
Jesse Sutton-Jones
Co-founder, Head of Marketing & Culture
Ex-Apple, develops culture and viral marketing strategy
Sarah Kelly
Managing Director
Fifteen years in premium bakery retail operations.
Steven Rimmer
Advisor
Former Seedrs executive, investment advice and support
Your Investment Questions, Answered
Can I invest now?
Our latest round is closed. Register your interest and we'll let you know when a future round opens. You are not committing to invest.
What will you do with the money?
We opened Primrose Hill and Covent Garden in 2026 and launched our production bakery at Spa Terminus, which now supplies all seven sites and has opened up wholesale. We reached our original £1M target early. The extended £1.5M supports the next sites on our way to 20 neighbourhoods across London.
How would I make a return?
A return would depend on the business's performance and an opportunity to sell your shares. Neither is guaranteed. You could lose all the money you invest, and you may not be able to sell your shares.
What is EIS and is it easy to claim?
EIS can offer eligible investors income tax relief of up to 30% on qualifying investments. Relief depends on your circumstances and the company and shares meeting the scheme's conditions. Shares normally need to be held for at least three years. Tax rules can change.
How much could I invest in a future round?
The minimum investment in our last round was £2,500. Terms for any future round will be confirmed when it opens.
How have you arrived at your valuation?
Our £9M pre-money valuation is about 2x our projected 2026 revenue, a multiple we think is reasonable for a business at this stage. We benchmark against sector peers. Forecasts are not guaranteed.
How can I support you
If you know someone who would like to hear about future investment rounds, share this page with them or put them in touch with Sophia at sophia@sourdoughsophia.co.uk.
When did the round close?
Our latest round closed on 15 October 2026 after reaching its £1.5M target.
Come Bake the Next Chapter With Us
"I've been baking this dream with my dad since I was five years old. Seven bakeries down. Thirteen to go. Come bake the next chapter with us."
— Sophia
Questions? sophia@sourdoughsophia.co.uk
Extended £1.5M target reached.