UK BBQ chain Porky’s BBQ has already raised over GBP100k via Crowdcube.com after launching on 1 June. With five restaurants in London and another two openings planned this year, investors have given the raise an initial boost as they look to reach a total of GBP650k before 30 June.
The largest investment on the first day, giving the restaurant over 13.5 per cent of the final goal, came in at GBP88k. Other backers have been boosting figures with smaller pledges, and all of those involved are set to benefit from equity and prize incentives if the campaign succeeds.
Owners, Simon and Joy Brigg, have commented on the strong start.
Simon says: “This is a really great confidence boost for us and other potential investors. There’s still a long way to go and we really want to encourage anyone who’s interested to join us. This a really exciting process and we are confident about meeting the business targets that we’ve set for our investors. We have planned an exciting future, so it’s great to open up the opportunity to involve more people at this stage.”
Porky’s BBQ is a family-run, Memphis-style restaurant with sites in Camden, Shoreditch, Bankside, Crouch End and a recently opened site in Chelsea. Forecasting an average turnover of around GBP100k across all five sites, the brand wishes to use this crowd-sourced investment to open two more sites this year alone. Investors will be offered shares, with A shares given to anyone with over GBP10,000 worth of investment.
This will be the business’s first effort to gain outside investment after self-funding an impressive first three years of growth. The target raise will be GBP650k in exchange for 7.5 per cent of the business via Crowdcube – the platform that has helped Brewdog fund the well- publicised Equity for Punks scheme.
