Senior management of a regional chain of coffee shops has responded to criticism of the business by disgruntled staff, saying that the chain has been a victim of a campaign of malicious social media misinformation.

In a rebuttal to a recent Oakham Nub News story which highlighted claims by a number of former staff members that they are owed money by the Strays' chain of cafés, the company's recently-appointed financial director has defended her firm and says it is engaged in a battle for survival against a mounting set of odds and setbacks as the hospitality sector bears the brunt of the Covid-19 legacy and the cost of living rise.

Jane Gray is the finance director for the company and says she and her colleagues, including the group's brother and sister founders Matthew Short, 50, and Elizabeth Mack, 49, have been targeted by malicious ex-staff.

And she refutes claims that they have not been paid – saying the company had advanced many of them cash to help fund travel to work and other costs.

Ms Gray told Nub News: "Strays' coffee has traded successfully for more than 20 years and throughout that time provided jobs and security for its staff, many of whom have been with company for several years.

"The business has multiple revenue streams which are run through separate companies and despite the recent liquidation of one of those companies no jobs have been lost nor wages unpaid as a result.

"Along with all other businesses in the hospitality sector, trade has been devastated by two years of lockdown and interrupted trading. The hospitality industry has suffered 906,000 failed businesses and £115 billion loss of revenue across the sector as a direct result of lockdowns.

"Nonetheless the company has continued to trade despite numerous setbacks including the death of key management staff.

"We understand that there has been a campaign of misinformation on social media, which we have not seen, and do not intend to engage with. Our energies are better utilised running the business."  

In our story last week former members of staff including Ellie Davies, Lauren Hicks and Kyra Edwards-West criticised the company and said they had not been paid.

Ms Gray acknowledges they are all former employees but says they have misrepresented their situation in regard to the reasons why they parted company.

And she is insistent that all have been paid monies due to them and that any alleged shortfall suffered by some of an alleged 19 unhappy employees across the company's cafés is a recovery of monies previously advanced against wages or payment for expenses claims, some of which she says have now been proven to be spurious.

Ms Gray says the company's focus is not on the past, nor on 'specific false claims' made by staff.

She concluded: "We understand that there is other misinformation on social media but we are unable to respond to that as it is non-specific. We do not intend to respond further."