Chilango extends Burrito Bond deadline

The company has so far raised £1.77m from 576 investors and said that over the last week it had “some new opportunities appear as well” on top of the £250k raised since 2 August, as reported by BigHospitality’s sister publication M&C Report​.

Target exceeded​

It has already secured funding to enable three restaurant openings this year and more sites in 2015 after exceeding its £1m crowdfunding target last month​​.

The company launched the bond through online platform CrowdCube on 9 June.

Sites in Camden and Soho are both currently being fitted out for opening later this year and a third new site is in advanced legals.

Investors​

Investors said to have invested in the mini-bond include Carluccio’s chief executive Simon Kossoff, Domino’s Pizza former chief executive Chris Moore, Jamie’s Italian former managing director Kevin Bacon, Costa Coffee former managing director Mike Dowell, Krispy Kreme former chief executive Don Henshall, as well as McDonald’s UK’s former vice-president of marketing and Carluccio’s chief finance officer.

With an interest rate of 8 per cent, the four-year mini-bond comes with two free burrito vouchers for all investors and free food for the duration of the bond for those investing 10,000 or more.

Engaging customer base​

When the bond launched in June, Chilango co-founder Eric Partaker said: “Our Burrito Bond is the perfect way for us to engage with our loyal following as well as Crowdcube’s investor base and accelerate our expansion plans with additional growth capital. As big fans of Mexican food we love everything that is vibrant, fresh and fun and Crowdcube is all of these. Its mini-bond platform is a breath of fresh air amongst the complexity and expense of existing solutions.”

Chilango is one of a growing number of restaurants and hospitality businesses that have resorted to crowdfunding to finance their expansion recently. Others include Austrian coffee house Kipferl, River Cottage and The Clove Club.