Chilango, burrito bonds, and London – the boss of the Mexican food chain talks about the virtues of crowdfunding April 8, 2019 After interviewing Eric Partaker, the co-founder of burrito chain Chilango, he says I should try the food at his elaborately decorated restaurant on Cannon Street. I ask what he recommends, and instead of picking from the regular menu, he suggests I sample the “Noah’s Ark” – a lunch box containing all the meat options. A [...]
The City View: Andrea Rasca on Mercato Metropolitano July 22, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Today Andy Silvester is joined by Andrea Rasca, the food lover and entrepreneur behind Mercato Metropolitano. They talk about the journey so far – from Milan to Mayfair via the Elephant and Castle – for the food and drink market, his approach to sustainability and ensuring that London remains [...]
Tossed owner Zest Food seeks rent cuts in restructuring plan November 20, 2019 Zest Food, the owner of healthy eating brand Tossed, is the latest casual dining chain to seek a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) restructuring plan. The company is asking landlords to agree to a combination of zero rent and rent reduction arrangements as part of the rescue plan. Read more: UK’s top restaurants swing to £93m [...]
Tossed owner Zest Food secures creditor backing for rescue plan December 12, 2019 Tossed owner Zest Food has secured the backing of its creditors to implement a rescue plan, which will allow its salad bar brand to continue to trade. The healthy fast food chain, which trades from 24 central London locations, said that no stores will need to close immediately, but it will seek to exit onerous [...]
What are mini-bonds? Everything you need to know about the products hit by the FCA’s marketing ban November 26, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today announced it is using its special powers to ban the marketing of some unregulated mini-bonds to individual investors. Mini-bonds have come under scrutiny since the collapse of lender London Capital & Finance (LCF) earlier this year, but what exactly are the controversial investment products, and what has the FCA [...]
Insolvency firm Begbies Traynor’s boss says retail carnage expected to continue December 10, 2019 The executive chairman of restructuring and insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor said today that there was no sign of the carnage on the High Street ending as the growth in e-retailing and shaky consumer confidence continued to take their toll. “Headwinds in terms of consumer demand with uncertainty over what the future will hold and structural [...]
Turtle Bay’s profit dives in challenging casual dining market December 10, 2019 Caribbean-style restaurant chain Turtle Bay suffered a sharp drop in profit in its last trading period, following a pattern seen across the UK’s casual dining sector. Profit fell from £4.43m last year to £1.39m in the year ended 2 March, as the company grappled with economic uncertainty and rising costs. Read more: Chilango confirms plans [...]
Chilango offers big investors a free burrito every week as it launches crowdfunder to help fund five new London restaurants October 11, 2018 Chilango is offering investors the chance to get a free meal a week, as it looks to raise £1m from its new ‘Burrito Bond’. The Mexican restaurant chain plan to add five more establishments to its 10 in London by 2020. Read more: Protein powerhouse Glanbia shakes things up to buy Slimfast for $350m It [...]
FCA to ban marketing of mini-bonds amid concerns over investor losses November 26, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today set out to ban the mass marketing of speculative mini-bonds to ordinary investors. The watchdog said the unregulated bonds could cause harm to amateurs, following a spate of investor losses. Read more: What are mini-bonds? Everything you need to know about the products hit by the FCA’s marketing ban [...]
Battle of the brands: Addison Lee tops list of most London-centric brands April 8, 2019 Taxi firms, shopping centres and local radio stations are among the brands which are most well known only to those living in the capital, a new study has found. Addison Lee topped Yougov's index of the most London-centric brands, with 83 per cent of Londoners knowing about the taxi hire firm compared with 29 per [...]