Suchef, the healthy fast food concept from the Aroma Food Group (UK), has sufficient capital in place to open up to 20 sites in central London as part of its roll-out strategy which includes taking the brand to the US, M&C Report has learnt.
The group is preparing to open three stores at Cowcross Street, Farringdon on 27 August, and at Mansell Street, Aldgate and City Road in October to bring its estate to four.
Operations manager Mikhail Shiyanov told M&C Report: “We have enough capital to continue rolling but real estate is the biggest thing slowing us down. We have retained CDG Leisure and if they can deliver another (site) this year that would be phenomenal.”
He said the group is looking to roll out a further 12 to 15 sites concentrating on the Square Mile of the City and is looking at Canary Wharf but would also consider areas with high footfall of office workers such as Soho and Mayfair.
Earlier this year the group obtained sufficient funding from a private equity investor to rollout up to 20 stores. Shiyanov said: “The investors are fairly aggressive so as long as we can roll out 16 to 20 sites we can secure further funding.”
The locations of the next London sites will depend upon appropriate properties becoming available; Suchef is currently looking at A3 sites around 1,000sq ft but also exploring changes to the model to allow the group to use A1 sites, but Shiyanov said that’s “a work in progress.”
Shiyanov said the concept would work in any metropolitan area in both the UK and internationally, with the US being the group’s “first priority” but one that is not going to happen until the UK roll-out is more established.
