Banana Tree, the pan-Oriental restaurant operator, is to continue its regional expansion, after securing its third site outside of London, in Oxford, M&C Report has learnt.
The eight-strong group, which plans to open a further five to six sites over the next two years, has secured the 2,500sq ft former Jessops unit in the city’s George Street for an opening early next year.
It is understood that the group had its best ever restaurant opening week at its new Milton Keynes site, which opened last week.
The company, which secured £2m of funding from NatWest last year, is currently working on a couple of sites for its pipeline for next year.
It is thought that the group, which is led by William and Anne Chow, would like to open a further site in London. However, the majority of its expansion will take place outside the capital as it looks to grow awareness of the brand across the country.
The group is also keen to secure larger sites in which it would incorporate an improved bar offer, although it believes that is has the flexibility to operate across a number of different locations.
Jake Bernstone at Davis Coffer Lyons acted on the Oxford deal.
