Chinese takeaway operator Hotcha has launched a crowd funding campaign to raise £1m to grow as national chain over the next five years.
The group, founded by James Liang in 2011, has launched a mini bond on Crowdcube to expand from its current 10 sites located in the south west.
Hotcha recorded full year turnover for its first nine sites reach c.£4m in 2014 and has subsequently opened its 10th unit in Bath. It plans to open a further 22 units in the coming three years.
The company said: “Following our initial start-up phase during which we invested in our sites, central kitchen facilities, staff, experienced management team, training and procedures, in FY2014 we achieved earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of c. £265,000 and a net income of c. -£6,500 due to a c. £12,800 one-time loss on disposal of assets. Going forward, we estimate that turnover will grow to c. £19 million by FY2019 (financial year ending 31 March 2020) as a result of our site growth plan. EBITDA margin is projected to grow from 7% in FY2014 to c. 20% by FY2017 as a result of higher volumes and improved productivity of our existing infrastructure. Net margins are expected to be c. 10% from FY2016.”
It has raised £223.5k (22%) of its Crowdcube target in the first day of the pitch being launched.
Earlier this year the company appointed Clive Mellor, former senior executive at Domino’s Pizza, as its operations director with a responsibility for “maintaining high trading standards across all aspects of the business”and also help increase the frequency of store openings.
