Giggling Squid, the fast-growing Thai restaurant chain brand, is in talks to secure a further five sites, as it gears up to open three new units over the next three months.
The 11-strong group, which has stated its ambition to operate an 80-strong estate across the UK within the next seven years, is understood to be in advanced negotiations for two additional sites and in early discussions on three other units in the south east.
Giggling Squid owner Andy Laurillard told M&C Report he hopes to have two of those new sites open by the end of this year.
It will open its latest site next week (17 April) in Horsham, followed by openings in Maidstone in June and Sevenoaks in July.
Giggling Squid’s most recent opening, a 114-cover restaurant which launched in Marlow, Buckinghamshire in February, is already achieving sales of over £30,000 a week.
“We love Horsham, where we have good friends and often go out for a bite here in the evenings,” said Laurillard.
The move represents a long-held ambition to add Horsham to its growing portfolio of restaurants across the South East. Horsham residents, who frequent the Crawley branch, eight miles away, have petitioned Andy to open in the town for some time.
“We always thought there was a gap in the market in the town where we’ve been looking for a site for the three years,” said Andy, who added, “Horsham is a great place to be and since it was pedestrianised, East Street has become one of the most attractive eating locations in the Weald, rivalling Brighton as a destination for food lovers.”
