Tossed launches £750k equity crowdfunding bid
Fast casual group Tossed is seeking to raise £750,000 via equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs.
The company hopes to use the ‘Put your money where your mouth is' campaign to fund its expansion plans, allowing it to target sites in high street, retail and motorway locations across London and the South East, as well as internationally. The group's aim is to make healthier eating an easier, more convenient option, in more places.
The company, which is 10 years old, already runs to 24 sites, including in London's West End, Covent Garden, Liverpool Street, and Baker Street, as well as at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford, and Bluewater in Kent. It also operates six sites at motorway service stations, and three venues in Dubai, UAE.
Seedrs is an online crowdfunding platform that allows donors to invest in shares in the company, with Tossed currently asking for £12.33 for one ordinary voting share. Those investing £200 or more will receive 20% off each purchase in-store for one year; those investing over £2,500 will get 50% off for one year; and those investing over £5,000 will get 50% of all purchases for the life of the investment.
The bid comes two years after the company secured £1.5m worth of investment from Santander, which was announced in May 2013 and then allowed the company to expand further, with a focus on London.
Founded by Vincent Mckevitt in 2005, Tossed first opened in Paddington, West London.
Of the new crowdfunding scheme, Mckevitt said: "There is something very exciting about inviting existing guests, and guests of the future, to actually be part of our growth story. We believe there is a place for a healthy food operator amongst the big players in the food industry, and that Tossed should be that challenger brand."
Rod McKie, chief executive of Welcome Break, which operates Tossed in motorway service stations, said: "Tossed was the missing piece of our jigsaw, to have a really great brand that delivers healthy fresh food. Bearing in mind we have an 80m footfall, a lot more people are going to get to know about it."
Other companies to secure recent funding from equity investment schemes include BrewDog, which launched its own Equity for Punks scheme in 2013, while Italian takeaway pizza group Pizza Rossa raised £105,310 in January this year via equity website CrowdCube.
Equity crowdfunding differs from other crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, in that the latter relies on donations for one-off rewards, gifts and prizes, rather than shares.
Equity schemes are generally used for more established businesses and higher amounts, while simple crowdfunding is often used for new projects or smaller sums. However, many businesses have raised considerable amounts using both methods, such as chef Gary Usher's Burnt Truffle, the new sister site to Sticky Walnut, which was funded with £100,000 through Kickstarter.
Tossed secures £1.5m of investment from Santander >>
