Nusa Kitchen, the Singapore-influenced soup kitchen brand, has secured its fourth site and has funding to open a further four over the next year, founder Mark Cox has told MCA.
The company will open at Queen Victoria Street next week and has also taken on a site near London City Airport for a central kitchen, which will be big enough to service up to 20 sites.
Cox said he hoped to open a further site this year and another three next year before growing to 12 in 2018. He said for the moment his sites were on London but he could see the potential for national and international expansion further down the line.
He said that in January he and the two other directors of the company had given up some equity in the company in return for investment that will fund the central kitchen and growth of the company to eight sites. He said beyond that, working capital supported by bank debt - which the company does not currently have - would fund further rollout.
He said: “When we started in 2004, there weren’t many places on the high street selling soup. It’s had quite a renaissance and is recognised much more as a lunch on its own. The likes of Pret and Itsu having a big focus on it has been helpful to us. At the same time we have evolved our offer with salads and rice boxes.
“The next stage is to focus on more on our drinks range and have or own juices and smoothies.”
Cox said the company also plans to launch its own wholesale range.
