RIBBLE VALLEY entrepreneur Michael Green is launching a new High Street tea-bar concept that will challenge the spread of the ubiquitous coffee shop.

Manchester will be the first venue for the 'Mumbo' chain of fresh and contemporary tea outlets which he is planning to roll out throughout the UK.

Originally from Rimington, Michael is the son of the late Tony Green, former managing director of Stirling Pet Foods which had premises in Oswaldtwistle and Samlesbury Bottoms.

His mother, Penny, still lives in Sawley.

Now living in Cheshire, Michael has a mission to introduce the public to an entirely new approach to the taste sensation of leaf tea.

The £500,000 Manchester tea-bar will open in King Street early next month as the flagship for what he hopes will become a global brand.

With a commercial track record that includes establishing Pret a Manger and Haagen Dazs as household names, the Mumbo brand could become part of every High Street.

"Mumbo will offer the public a taste sensation they will want to experience again and again," said Michael, managing director of the Mumbo Trading Company.

"Having seen the development of the cafe lifestyle, it struck me that there was a gap in the market for those who enjoy tea and also for the many who do not know leaf tea.

"Tea is sensational, interesting and fashionable. It has a buzz about it. I knew we would succeed if we got people to taste the sensation of real leaf tea. Tea is more interesting than coffee because it has more flavour and variety and it is healthier."

The three-storey Mumbo tea-bar will open from breakfast through to the evening. Only leaf teas, from around 35 varieties, will be served. Coffee and tea bags are strictly off the menu.