Mowgli eyes further expansion with sites in Edinburgh, Brighton and Preston mooted

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Indian street food group Mowgli will open a site in Cheltenham this summer with expansion to other areas including Edinburgh, Brighton and Preston also planned.

In an Instagram post, founder Nisha Katona confirmed that Mowgli Cheltenham would open 'at some point in the summer of 2021' in the town's Brewery Quarter, creating more than 30 jobs.

"I have always been a fan of Cheltenham-more literary than racing in truth. Seeing some of my hero authors there made Cheltenham nothing less than hallowed ground for me," she wrote.

"To be able to take Mowgli there, to create over 30 jobs, to find and support a local charity there makes me so proud and reminds me of why we must keep our strength and chin up and march on as bloodied as we are."

Katona, a former barrister, launched Mowgli in Liverpool in 2014.

The group currently operates 11 restaurants across the country, most recently opening a site in Leeds last year following the lifting of the first national lockdown.

In another recent Instagram post, Katona set out her tentative plans for further expansion, which could see another six Mowgli sites open by the end of 2022.

Providing restaurants are able to open, as is currently scheduled under the Government's roadmap, on 17 May, then Mowgli will open its Cheshire Oaks site in July.

If restaurants are busy over the summer season, then Katona says she will look to open the group's long-awaited Bristol restaurant in November or December this year.

She adds that if there is not another four month lockdown from next Christmas then Mowgli intends to finally launch in Scotland, in Edinburgh, in 2022.

Under the plans three more openings will also be slated for next year, with Glasgow, Brighton and Preston being considered as locations.

The group has been on the expansion trail since securing a £3.45m backing from private equity company Foresight Group in 2017.