Middleton Enterprises, a venture capital firm with offices in London and Newcastle, is leading a funding round of £612,000 in SushiDog, with a view to providing a longer-term investment that offers financial and strategic support.
Primarily, the funding round will support the opening of new outlets in central London in 2023, with some investment in other areas of the business such as strengthening its leadership team.
SushiDog was founded in August 2017 by Greg Ilsen and Nick Goldstein and started trading from a kiosk at Westfield White City in May 2018.
It opened its first bricks and mortar site in Covent Garden in 2020 and last year added sites in Soho and Bishopsgate.
The group’s longer-term objective is to build out the chain across 30 sites over the next five years. As well as growing in the capital, it has previously spoken of wanting to expand outside of London and eventually overseas.
“Middleton Enterprises have a strong track record in supporting businesses like ours, looking to expand and roll out more units,” says Ilsen.
“We were impressed with their Growth Capital investment strategy and their simple and straightforward way of doing business.
“With Middleton Enterprises, it’s not just about the funding; they’re a valuable partner, offering ideas on how we can achieve growth, as well as strategic business advice. We look forward to working closely with them as we execute our expansion plans.”
In addition to SushiDog, Middleton Enterprises’s growth capital portfolio includes OneGym, a boutique gym chain; Alertacall, a provider of enhanced housing management and digital telecare; and modular housing company, ilke Homes.
“SushiDog is a prime example of the type of profitable and fast-growing business that Middleton Enterprises typically identifies and supports,” says Jeremy Middleton, CEO of Middleton Enterprises.
“We were immediately impressed by the founders’ ambitious growth plans and knew that we wanted to help them on their journey.”
“SushiDog provides customers with an innovative and fun way to order and eat sushi. The fresh ingredients offer a healthier alternative to the other ‘grab and go’ type offerings in this fast-growing category.
“We felt the combination of its unique concept and strong economics, along with its impressive and ambitious founders and advisory board make SushiDog the perfect fit for our growth capital offering, and we look forward to adding value to the company as it grows.”
SushiDog serves a grab-and-go menu of customisable poke bowls, salads, and made-to-order sushi rolls that are wrapped up in a similar size to a burrito.
