Mexican food chain Chilango has proved to be hot stuff having closed its second round on Crowdcube with £3.4 million in backing. The money will fund Chilango’s expansion plans that expect to see five-fold growth by 2021 and creation of around 600 jobs.
The campaign target was originally £1 million which Chilango smashed in 11 days, overfunding by 343% to secure £3,433,010. The 1519 people who invested received an 8.72% equity stake, with the largest investor putting in the significant sum of £300,000.
The new equity round will kick start Eric Partaker’s and Don Houghton’s strategy to open up in 50 locations across 20 UK cities by 2021, a five-fold increase on the ten restaurants currently operating* around London. It also plans to introduce international franchises, starting with Dubai in the Middle East. This will generate about 600 new jobs.
Multi-million pound debt and equity raises
Eric Partaker, co-founder of Chilango: “Once again the power of crowdfunding shows its might. We’ve now completed back-to-back, multi-million pound debt and equity raises on Crowdcube to fund our growth. People love the buzz and immediacy of crowdfunding and nothing beats letting our guests and fans support and profit from our success. More power to the people!”
Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube adds: “As before, Chilango has excited investors with the passion and high quality of its proposal and Eric Partaker’s video pitch particularly grabbed people’s attention as it was so vibrant. Also, the company is backed by a lot of top execs from high profile brands in the hospitality sector and that’s always reassuring for our subscribers.”
About Chilango
In 2007 ex-Skype executives, Eric Partaker and Don Houghton launched their first restaurant in Islington, London. Wild about Mexican food, they saw a gap in London’s fast food market for freshly prepared burritos full of authentic, zingy flavours and colourful ingredients. Now Chilango operates 9, soon to be 10, Mexican restaurants around central London and has won several awards for its food, including “No. 1 Mexican restaurant” in the Zagat Survey, “London’s Best Burritos” in Time Out, and “Best New Chain Restaurants Around the World” in Condé Nast Traveller.
For more information click here