Chilango smashes £1m crowdfunding target early
Burrito restaurant chain Chilango has smashed its target to raise £1m through crowdfunding website CrowdCube, with 16 days still left to run.
The business announced last week that it was seeking the funds as part of its drive to expand to 50 sites over the next five years.
The company, which last year raised £2.1m through a "burrito bond" with Crowdcube offering 8% p.a. interest over the four years of the bond, this time offered investors a 3.26% stake in the business for their £1m investment, effectively valuing the company at just over £30m.
Whereas the burrito bond required a minimum investment of £500, this time investors will be able to offer up as little as £10 each.
Slightly over a week later, the company has now raised nearly £1.2m from a total of 566 investors, and is now offering 3.81% equity in return. The largest single investment so far is £100,000.
Chilango said it would use the funds to help kickstart the next phase of its expansion, with ambitions to grow five-fold in the next five years. Chilango currently has nine sites, all of which are in London, with a 10th planned for Brewer Street in Soho soon.
Founders Eric Partaker and Dan Houghton (pictured, L-R) said they wanted to look at potential sites in over 20 cities throughout the country, as well as introducing international franchises with initial focus on Dubai and the Middle East.
The £1m would fund the launch of three UK restaurants.
To strengthen its management team, three existing investors with a background in hospitality have been appointed as non-executive directors:
- Simon Kossoff, chairman of Carluccio's Italian restaurants
- Don Henshall, former chief executive of Krispy Kreme UK and current CEO with Farrow & Ball
- Chris Moore, former chief executive of Domino's Pizza UK
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