On Tuesday, UK’s Yorkshire Meatball Co. announced that it was extending its equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube by an extra two weeks. The company hit the funding portal earlier this month to raise £100,000 as it plans to expand its restaurant chain.
The team at Yorkshire Meatball Co. revealed that they offer a unique and flexible menu in their casual meatball and craft beer bars and are seeking to develop a range of premium branded meatballs and sauces for national retail sale. They stated:
“In our opinion, meatballs have a tangible place in consumer markets – they feature in many cuisines, on many restaurant menus and as commodity (unbranded or own-brand) items in supermarkets. But anecdotal evidence suggests people perceive the quality of many meatballs as dubious and their typical application (e.g. spaghetti and meatballs) somewhat limited. People love meatballs, but many prefer to make their own at home for quality.”
The company has won various awards, including the following:
- WINNER: “Restaurant of the Year” in the National 2014 Startups.co.uk Awards
- SHORTLISTED: Free-From Eating Out Awards 2014
- SHORTLISTED: ‘Independent Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year’ in the 2016 UK Casual Dining Awards
- LISTING: The 2015 StartUps’ Top 100
Funds from the Crowdcube round will go towards securing IP on all registerable trademarks, developing the existing Harrogate restaurant space to add an external (all-weather) dining area, beer celler and bottle shop and to provide further operational capital ahead of retail revenue and further expansion of franchises.
Revealing why the company decided to extend its campaign, founders David and Gareth Atkinson stated:
“Late last week, we were delighted to have received a significant investment from an individual who had visited Harrogate on holiday last year and who had eaten in our restaurant. This investment, taking us over the 50% mark, came after off-line questions and answers, and is indicative of the interesting conversations we are currently engaged in.
“As a result of the activity and interest being generated by our pitch, and considering we launched our campaign with no prearranged investment from friends or family, we are confident of closing further investment pledges in the coming days.
“Therefore, due to these ongoing conversations, and the high number of business plans in circulation (over 160), we are delighted to have been granted a two-week pitch extension. We remain on hand during this period to answer any potential investors questions directly.”
The campaign will now close early April.
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