of equally proportioning Aroma on coffee and sandwiches. This positioned Aroma at the centre where on the one side was Pret a Manger which concentrated on sandwiches while on the other side was Starbucks which concentrated on coffee. Aroma's products were constructed in a factory in southeast London. By 1996, Aroma was selling over three million cups of coffee per year and had expanded to 11 locations including the Southbank Centre, Bond Street, and the Lakeside Shopping Centre. Writing for The Sunday Times in 1996, Nicholas Fox commented, "Aroma remains the most innovative [coffee bar], incorporating a flourishing food business serving unusual sandwiches such as turkey and red cabbage." Associated Press reporter Bruce Stanley described Aroma in 1999 as a chain that "sell[s] coffee and sandwiches in a lively atmosphere of recorded Caribbean music and bright yellow and orange decor". The founder, Michael Zur-Szpiro, switched to part-time employment at Aroma in 1996. McDonald's In 1999, Aroma Cafe had 23 locations, roughly 300 employees, and £10million. McDonald's acquired Aroma Cafe in 1999 for £10.5million. At the time of the acquisition, Apax Partners held 50% of the equity; Zur-Szpiro, the founder, had roughly 10%; and Finlay Scott, the Aroma chairman, held the rest. Since Apax had funded Aroma using a closed-end fund, it was forced to liquidate its position in Aroma. In 1988, Apax selected Cavendish Corporate Finance to set up the acquisition. The acquisition talks took seven months with Cavendish setting up a warranty insurance mechanism to satisfy both parties since McDonald's refused to proceed with the acquisition if there were no warranty and Apax as an institution was unable to provide a warranty. McDonald's said that after the acquisition Aroma still would be run as a separate brand by a different management team. Aroma was the first non-American chain McDonald's had acquired to run as a separate brand. It was the second company McDonald's had purchased ownership in "outside its traditional fast-food fare", with the first being Chipotle Mexican Grill. Claire Oldfield wrote in The Sunday Times in 2002 that the acquisition "is made more remarkable because Aroma was a start-up in 1991 backed by venture capital and retained an entrepreneurial feel when McDonald's bought it". While it was owned by the fast food chain, Aroma was subjected to some anticapitalist demonstrations focused on McDonald's. In August2001, McDonald's enlisted the services of SG Hambros to investigate a sale of Aroma.