Grind & Co launches crowdfunding drive to raise £1.5m towards expansion

Founded in 2011 by entrepreneur David Abrahamovitch and Australian Kaz James, the company currently operates four sites across the capital – with a fifth launching in Covent Garden this summer.

To help accelerate its growth Grind & Co is seeking investment to open a sixth East London venue with an on-site roastery, allowing the group to in-source its own custom blend.

The site will also serve as a Grind coffee shop, cocktail bar and restaurant, with a central processing kitchen serving all the London sites.

Abrahamovitch said: “Since that first day in 2011, its been the support of our customers that has driven us to where we are today, and we knew we had to allow them to fund our next stage of growth. Grind has always been about doing things our own way, and a little differently, and this fresh, democratic approach to fundraising really resonated with us.”

Investors in the‘Grind Bond’ will receive an eight per cent annual interest rate paid quarterly over four years, as well as an ‘Investor Card’ offering complimentary coffees and cocktails.

Any investment over £5,000 will receive free coffees and cocktails for the lifetime of the bond. Those investing more than £10,000 will get free coffee’s or cocktails every week, and those investing in excess of £25,000 will be awarded a Grind ‘Red Card’ that entitles the user to a free coffee or cocktail every single day for the lifetime of the bond.

Abrahamovitch told BigHospitality he was hoping to open ‘anywhere between an additional two and four’ bespoke venues across the capital as a result of the investment.

“All our sites are quite unique, we’re not looking to turn in to a chain. Each new opening will have new menu items and a different twist.

“We’re not targeting any particular areas [of London], the key thing for us is opening amazing spaces – we’ll look everywhere until we find a beautiful building,” he said.

Each additional site is estimated to cost in the region of £200-300,000 depending on its size, rising to £350,000 for the roastery venue.

Looking ahead​

Despite the saturated coffee market, the Grind founders remain unfazed in the face of high street competition.

“What makes us unique is that we’re so much more than just coffee – we’re a bar and restaurant business in our own right. No one else has really transitioned from coffee to become a really high quality all day and all night offer,” said Abrahamovitch.

London Grind in London Bridge is the first of the brand’s sites to operate a restaurant, with a former Cecconi’s chef heading up the kitchen, and Shoreditch Grind is undergoing development to follow suit.

Abrahamovitch explained that the team were hoping to use the CrowdCube investment to develop two different kinds of venues – larger spaces with a restaurant offering, and smaller cafes focusing on coffee and cocktails.

The brand’s ‘medium-term plan’ involves expanding nationally outside of London, and eventually on an international scale.

Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, said: “Grind already has four sites in prime locations across London, so it’s great that their existing customers and advocates can be part of their future plans to expand across the UK.

“Businesses from the food and beverage sector are usually very popular with our crowd of 175,000 investors so we’re pleased to be able to offer people the opportunity to invest in the Grind Bond.”