Hotcha, a Chinese takeout chain, recently launched a mini-bond on Crowdcube to raise £1 million so that it may expand and become a national chain in five years.
Hotcha was established by chefs James Liang and Andy Chan in 2011. It is described as a branded Chinese takeaway chain with big ambitions based upon being fast, friendly and fresh. It currently operates 10 stores across the South West of England and since its launch has received £4 million in turnover and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation.
The company shared:
“It’s not just us, the whole country loves Chinese food! Research has identified that Chinese cuisine owns 25% of the takeaway market, with the average Brit spending £1,320 a year on takeaway. The UK takeaway market is now a multi-billion pound industry and Chinese cuisine is one of the most popular choices amongst British consumers. We believe it has the advantage of being one of the few takeaway cuisines that appeals to customers of all ages.
“With this in mind, we feel that there is a huge gap in the market for a national Chinese takeaway and delivery chain. We believe that the market is currently dominated by independent operators who rely on in-house chefs in order to operate. In our experience, this makes it difficult to roll out a national model which can offer consistently high quality food and service. However, we believe we have overcome this challenge by building our central production unit in Bristol where we produce all of the ingredients for our dishes to the exacting standards of our executive chefs, Mr. Jiang and Mr. Leong, who between them have over 50 years’ experience cooking Chinese food for the British public.”
With the funds, Hotcha will be able to do the following:
- Streamlined in-store operations,
- Effective staff training programme,
- Upgrading our food preparation equipment,
- Central production unit,
- Experienced management team both at store and head office levels
More importantly, if the company raises its £1 million target, it is expected to build up to 5 new stores.
Registered holders of Hotcha Bonds (“Bondholders”) will have their choice of:
- A fixed-rate return of 8% gross interest per annum over the course of an initial four year term payable in cash; or
- A fixed-rate return of 12% gross interest per annum payable in store credit over the course of an initial four year term.
Since its launch, the bond has successfully raised nearly £250,000 from nearly 35 investors. It is set to close mid-August.
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