A coffee business which gives ex-offenders a chance at work has been forced to find a new home after bosses revoked its contract at a prison near Watford.
Redemption Roasters has had a production facility at HMP The Mount in Bovingdon since March 2020, where it roasts coffee beans to be brewed in its 10 cafes across London.
The start-up trains inmates at the prison roastery to later prepare them for barista roles at its coffee shops, where 23 per cent of staff are ex-offenders.
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But the business has claimed it will be forced to leave The Mount in February 2025 after prison bosses tried to quadruple its fee to produce coffee at the site, according to theWhen the roasters reportedly questioned the sharp rise, its contract at The Mount was terminated in early July.
Redemption Roasters cofounder Ted Rosner said the prison had called itself “the prison of opportunity” in its dedication to rehabilitating inmates, but claimed the recent decision seemed to “violate that principle”.
He claimed they had previously offered to pay higher fees in January to continue producing there but were rebuffed by managers.
A Prison Service spokesperson confirmed Redemption Roasters’ contract had been terminated for February 2025, but said the decision followed a review of commercial partnerships at the prison.
They added: “Redemption Roasters is one of many employers working with us to deliver important rehabilitation workshops. We will continue to work with them at other prisons so offenders can continue to secure employment on release, and turn their backs on crime.”
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Redemption Roasters also runs nine barista academies at other prisons which will not be affected by the change.
It comes as thousands of prisoners are set to be released across 18 months from September to ease prison overcrowding.
Labour Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced that around 4,000 extra male and fewer than 1,000 female prisoners will be released after they have served 40 per cent of their sentence in England and Wales, rather than the current 50 per cent.
New prisons minister James Timpson is also looking at increasing the number of businesses hiring people behind bars after he started employing ex-offenders for Timpson branches when he took over as CEO in 2002.
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