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Each week, we dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, Roland Horne, CEO of coffee chain WatchHouse, takes us through his eclectic career in Square Mile and Me
CV
- Name: Roland Horne
- Job title: Founder and CEO of WatchHouse
- Previous roles: Founder and creative director at Aquarium Architecture; three years working for the Labour Party in the House of Commons; plus plenty in between
- Age: 41
- Born: Dublin, Ireland
- Lives: London Bridge
- Studied: Economics and Politics (SOAS); Master’s in Economic History (LSE); Executive MBA (Saïd Business School, Oxford)
- Talents: Once a very quick runner, with competitive football, rugby and athletics behind me. These days, resilience, drive and having a lot of fun
- Motto: Be authentic
- Biggest perk of the job? Travel, and the chance to build great little worlds for people to enjoy
- Coffee order: Black pour-over in the morning, oat flat white in the afternoon
- Cocktail order: Dry vodka martini, extra shaken, with a million olives. The gold standard is the smoked martini at The 86 in New York, with three olives stuffed with anchovy and blue cheese. So good.
- Favourite book: The Other Hand by Chris Cleave, with To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby close behind
What was your first job?
Believe it or not, I was with Avon, knocking on doors aged 13 trying to flog cosmetics. That was followed, very quickly, by a job at McDonald’s.
What was your first role in business?
My first business was Aquarium Architecture, designing huge aquariums for celebrities, footballers, hedge fund owners and billionaires. Let’s just say we met some weird and wonderful creatures, and not all of them were in the tanks.
When did you know you wanted to build a career in hospitality?
I think you know when you see a wrong you can right, and care enough to do something about it. Around 2011-12, I was frustrated by how generic UK hospitality felt compared with what I was seeing abroad, and I wanted to bring that home. The aquarium business was all about service and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, so I applied that same creative vision to something everyone touches every day: coffee and café culture. That became WatchHouse.
What’s one thing you love about the City of London?
When the City is humming, there’s nothing like it. On a sunny summer Thursday, with everyone knocking off early for a drink, the whole place moves as one. The City in the sunshine feels like a giant village – it makes being part of the hospitality offering here exciting and rewarding.
And one thing you would change?
I’d bring back the outwardly optimistic energy London had in the nineties and noughties, when it felt like you could do anything here. Since Brexit, the complexion has shifted, but this is one of the best cities in the world, if not the best, and we should lean into that. Let’s bring back that vibe.
What’s been your most memorable business lunch?
I worked in politics for a while, including on Ed Miliband’s 2010 leadership campaign, so there were some extraordinary dinners. Sitting down with Tony Blair, David Miliband and the Labour grandees of that era was a real privilege. Maybe one day I’ll get back into politics. We’ll see.
And any business faux pas?
In the aquarium days, clients would be ringing in the small hours because a fish had died and it was all my fault. Once, I went to text my business partners an unprintable verdict on a particular buyer… and, of course, sent it straight to him. I spent the next three hours convincing him he wasn’t, in fact, what I’d called him, while trying very hard not to lose his business.
What’s been your proudest moment?
Opening WatchHouse in New York in 2023, with my three wonderful children beside me at the launch party, was really special. Winning the award for best European coffee brand three years on the trot is right up there too.
Who do you look up to?
I don’t so much look up to people, as to hold them in high regard. For example, I admire Mark Cuban’s reinvention from brash billionaire to someone who seems fairly decent. For me, Barack Obama is the benchmark in life, happiness and everything in between. Closer to home, it’s my family and my partner: the people who love you enough to tell you hard truths.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever been given?
Get a mentor, someone who genuinely cares and will give you proper advice on the way up. And be authentic. Humanity performs best when authenticity is at the core.
And the worst?
“Stick to what you know.”
Are you optimistic for the year ahead?
Yes. You don’t open coffee shops for a living without being an optimist. London has everything it needs to thrive. What business can do better is invest in places people genuinely want to spend time in, and back the people who run them. Do that, and the noughties energy comes back.
We’re going for lunch, and you’re picking. Where are we going?
Blacklock in the City. It’s unpretentious, accessible to pretty much everyone and, speaking as someone in the trade, a seriously good operator. Galvin La Chapelle is a close second.
And if we’re grabbing a drink after work?
Discount Suit Company is my go-to, and The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town is great too. With a name like that, how could it not be?
Where’s home during the week?
London Bridge. WatchHouse was born on Bermondsey Street, and I’ve lived around there for almost half my life, though I spend a lot of time in the States and the UAE for work.
And where might we find you at the weekend?
Walking along the Thames if I’m in town, but most weekends I try to escape to Bristol, Somerset or the Cotswolds. I also have a place in New York, so I’m often there.
You’ve got a well-deserved two weeks off. Where are you going and who with?
Assuming it’s summer, I’d take my lovely girlfriend for a week of calm, relaxing sunshine in the South of France, then a week of fun in Ibiza before I get too old for it.
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