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Gaffar Family Holdings LLP
The family group of companies, owned and operated by the family, of which SUMLII is a recent extension.
The Maravi / Gaffar group
A family story. An overseas purpose.
Five generations in Malawi, a café business built there, a British pilot that became five shops, and a company formed to take the idea further.
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The roots
From India to Malawi, five generations ago.
The Gaffar family came to Malawi from India around 1925. Five generations later the family is still there, still trading, and still connected to the coffee country that gave Maravi its name.
Maravi’s overseas story began with a move in the other direction: Adam and Abdul Gaffar left their father and family in Malawi and settled in Bournemouth. The business they built on the English south coast is now the experience SUMLII takes into every conversation abroad.
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What each part does
Family, experience and the overseas vehicle.
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Maravi in Malawi and Britain
Three cafés, a bakery, a coffee warehouse and a supermarket presence in Malawi; five coffee shops, a roastery and a franchise pilot in the UK through MARAVI CAFFE HOLDINGS LLP.
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SUMLII LLP
Formed in June 2025 to research overseas markets, build a local footprint and develop joint-operation agreements, licensing and franchising.
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The remit
What SUMLII is for.
SUMLII finds the country, tests the market, and works out how a Maravi café should exist there. It looks for local operators with the right experience and temperament, and sets up a structure that gives them a real business while protecting the standards the group has built.
The first country is Spain. The supplied account describes two Spanish companies — one to license the Maravi system, one to run the first pilot café in Marbella — and a plan to document the designs, know-how and product presentation before offering the model to partners.
The wider purpose is quieter than expansion. It is to make a Malawian coffee business work in countries that have never heard of Malawi, and to tell them why it matters.
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The British chapter
How the pilot became five shops and a roastery.
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The Spanish chapter
Two companies, a licence and a Marbella pilot.
Where it began
Three cafés in Malawi.
Before the overseas plan there was a home market, a family reputation and a supermarket presence built over years.