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News
Swift co-founders announce departure
Mia Johansson and Bobby Hiddleston, co-founders of award-winning Swift, will leave the bar group this summer.
The husband-and-wife team made the decision to return to Sweden, where Johansson is from, to start a family.
The duo founded the original Swift venue in Soho with Roisin Stimpson and Edmund Weil, of Speakeasy Entertainment (owners of Nightjar and Oriole), through the company’s shareholder scheme.
Swift now boasts three sites across London.
Coral Anderson, current operations manager, will lead the bar as managing director following the pair’s departure. Anderson has worked alongside Johansson and Hiddleston since Swift opened in November 2016.
Hiddleston and Johansson said: “It’s such a shame we can’t pick up the bars and bring them with us. Although this is the right decision for us, that doesn’t mean we aren’t heartbroken to hand over the running of our forever passion project.
“Coral will do a fabulous job of bringing Swift into a new dimension and we are so grateful to Ed and Rosie for approaching us all those years ago.
“London has raised us and we couldn’t be more thankful for the 15 years we have spent here. Whilst we haven’t got set plans for work at the moment, we aren’t leaving any doors closed for future projects with Swift.”
New management
Anderson will be joined by Connor Bloomfield, who will take up the role of head of bars. Bloomfield is currently bar manager at Swift Shoreditch. In his new position, he will lead the cocktail programmes at all three sites.
Stimpson and Weil said: “We are of course devastated to see Bobby and Mia go but they have our full support. We recognise the hard work and passion they have poured into Swift – they ran with it and it’s remarkable to see what a powerhouse they have been.
“We also hope it is a testament to our business model, which empowers and gives the creative autonomy to talented bartenders such as Bobby and Mia.
It is gratifying to end on such a beautiful note while passing the reins to Coral who will make a dynamic managing director, and we look forward to the next stages of growing the business with her.”