Chilango launches £1m crowdfunding campaign to aid regional expansion
The company, which is set to open its 10th site in London this year, is giving away a three per cent stake in the business through a new campaign on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.
Money raised will be used to fund expansion into 20 cities across the UK as well as introduce international franchises and help the company reach its target of 50 sites over the next five years.
Areas in the UK being looked at include Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
"The money will be used to help us start our next phase of growth which is looking to expand to 20 cities in the UK, co-founder Eric Partaker told BigHospitality.
"Obviously that's not enough money to get us to 20 cities, but it's enough to get us started in the search for property across those cities as well as continue our international partnership discussions, which are already underway."
New campaign
Partaker said the new campaign differed from its bond offer last summer where it raised £2.1m after investors put in a minimum of £500 in return for an eight per cent per annum interest payment over the four years of the bond.
"Based on the success of the campaign last time we thought what better way to fund the business than to include the public again in the story," he said.
"Last time around the investment minimum for the bond was £500 and we raised over £2m from over 700 people. This time with an equity offer we can set that minimum far lower at £10, so it is a far more accessible investment opportunity."
Partaker is confident the campaign, which opens today, will be a success.
"When we were raising against the burrito bond we were inundated for requests for equity, so this as an invesment opportunity will be equally appetising, if not more so, than the bond."
The Burrito Bond has already paid out £130k to its investors in its first two interest payments. The £2m capital raised has allowed Chilango to grow rapidly in 12 months, creating around 40 more jobs and financing three additional sites, with London Bridge and Camden High Street open, and Soho on the way, taking the group up to 10 restaurants.
