Caffè Nero offers e-mail espressos

Independent coffee bar operator Caffè Nero is opening a coffee shop in a west London EasyInternetcafé.

The group will take over the ground floor of the EasyInternetcafé in High Street, Kensington, which has about 1,600sq ft of trading space.

The new coffee shop, due to open in August, will open from 7am to 11pm, in keeping with the Internet café's trading hours, and has the potential to serve about 18,000 customers a day.

Gerry Ford, chairman of Caffè Nero, said: "Joining forces with the EasyInternetcafé chain is an exciting development in Caffè Nero's expansion. The mix of our Continental café culture with EasyInternetcafé's online service will create a new Internet experience for customers, from which both will benefit."

He added: "This is the first of a number of initiatives in which we hope to explore the considerable opportunities for further development of the Caffè Nero brand."

Caffè Nero said this was its first agreement with EasyInternetcafé, but added that, if it was successful, there was potential for more joint ventures in the future.

Caffè Nero runs 109 coffee shops throughout the UK.