In 2012, Tesco invested in a new coffee shop chain, named Harris + Hoole after coffee-loving characters in Samuel Pepys' diary. Tesco own up to 49% of the company, which is run by Nick, Andrew and Laura Tolley who own the majority of shares.
In August 2014, it was announced that six of the chain's outlets would be closed, leaving 41 in operation.
In April 2015, Ethical Consumer ranked Harris + Hoole the lowest in an assessment of the social and environmental impacts of coffee shops. According to Ethical Consumer the company did not provide information on any ethical, environmental or supply chain policies, and used a direct trade model of sourcing from farmers which did not give the same kind of price support as fair trade. In response Harris + Hoole stated that their direct trade supplier sourced high quality coffee and aimed to create sustainable livelihoods for small scale farmers.