The company launched their crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube in May and have raised a total of £654,070 so far from 174 investors, in return for 16.75 per cent equity in the business.
Filmore & Union have decided to extend the campaign to accelerate the group’s growth which will increase the value of the company for investors and make the business more attractive to a purchaser within the timeframe covered in the business plan.
Filmore & Union was founded in 2011 by Adele Carnell, a former wellness clinic owner, and nephew Will Pugh, a Michelin trained chef, who were frustrated at the lack of healthy, unprocessed food on the high street.
They now operate at seven locations across Yorkshire serving pure, natural and wholesome food both to eat in and take out with a Central Production Unit (CPU) to maintain consistent quality and contributing to a turnover in 2014 of £3.145 million.
Filmore & Union will use the money raised from their crowdfunding campaign to facilitate the launch of new eateries across the North of England; making fast, healthy food accessible to more people.
The first new site to open will be a Filmore & Union café, restaurant and bar in Ilkley on Monday 3rd August with 56 covers, closely followed by the biggest Filmore and Union yet opening on Station Parade in Harrogate on Monday 31st August, seating 130 and including a large outdoor dining area.
Filmore & Union will then open their first East Yorkshire site in the market town of Beverley early in September, seating 86 people over two floors.
Director of Filmore & Union, Adele Carnell, said: “It’s been amazing to have been supported by so many people who love our food and concept and we can’t thank everyone enough for their investment and support so far.
We’ve not only had support financially in raising our target, but we now have some new board members who are loyal customers of Filmore and will be supporting us in other ways as well as being brand ambassadors. We’ve decided to extend our fundraising period as we’re still getting so much interest so we want to make sure that everyone who wants to has the opportunity to invest in us.
Achieving our crowdfunding target means that we can make pure, natural and wholesome food accessible to more people across the North of England which is so exciting for us! Ultimately, we want everyone to be able to enjoy nutrient dense food that will help their bodies support them and consequently live a happier and healthier lifestyle.”
Craig McKenna, Crowdcube’s Investment Manager for the North of England, said: “We’re delighted that Filmore & Union have achieved their target. We wish them all the success for the future and can’t wait to watch them continue to grow.”
