Tortilla Mexican restaurant chain plans to open sites outside London

The company, which opened its first restaurant in Islington in 2007, has just signed a deal for its eighth site in Wimbledon and is in legal discussions for a ninth following the investment of £3.5m from the firm responsible for helping grow YO! Sushi.

Stephens told BigHospitality the company’s objective is to add 20 to 25 restaurants to its estate both in and out of the capital over the next few years, with the proviso that ‘good quality’ sites are available.​​

“Our management team, our board and our investors are in agreement that we will not take poor sites simply to meet a forecast,” he said.

“We are focusing on central London at the moment but are in discussions for locations in Southern England for 2012, as well as the Midlands and Northern England for 2013 and beyond.

“That said, we are aware of the challenges of expanding too quickly, particularly to locations that are too geographically diverse. As a result we will be taking an operationally-robust but cautious approach to expansion outside of London.”

Directors​

As part of the deal with Quilvest, partner Axelle Strain, will join the board of directors at Tortilla while former Clapham House chief executive Paul Campbell, whose Hill Capital Partners fund remains an investor in Tortilla, becomes non-executive director.​​

Campbell said: "Brandon has created a wonderful business which has consequently attracted investors of the highest calibre. With this investment, Tortilla will reinforce its position as the stand out offer in the UK's fast growing Mexican grill market."

Since opening its first site in Islington in 2007, Tortilla has expanded around the capital and sells its Californian-Mexican style food from sites in Southwark, Canary Wharf, Oxford Circus, Leadenhall Market, Hammersmith and Westfield Stratford City.