Foresight Group has completed a £3.5m investment in Indian street food chain Mowgli to fund the roll-out of restaurants around the UK.
The deal is the sixth investment from the Foresight Regional Investment Fund.
Mowgli Street Food, a chain of Indian street food restaurants with outlets in Liverpool and Manchester, plans to expand to Birmingham and Leeds later this year.
The chain, founded by Former barrister Nisha Katona three years ago, focuses on healthy, light dishes and provides an extensive gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan offering using recipes passed down from Nisha’s family.
As part of the investment, Matthew Peck, former head of finance at private equity-backed Byron Hamburgers, has been appointed as finance director. In addition, Karen Jones, chair of Hawksmoor, has been appointed as chair, having previously founded Café Rouge.
Foresight has £2.6bn of assets under management across a number of funds. Its private equity team comprises 16 investment professionals, invests between £1m and £5m in management buy-outs, management buy-ins and growth capital investments in UK SMEs.
The Foresight Regional Investment Fund targets companies in the North West of England, North Wales and South Yorkshire. Supported by Foresight’s new Manchester office, the fund deployed one-third of its funds within its first 12 months and has a pipeline of investment opportunities under consideration.
Claire Alvarez, senior investment manager, Foresight, said: “The Mowgli Street Food chain is illustrative of the continuous innovation and entrepreneurial culture that is prevalent in the North West.”
“The deal is the first in a series of investments we are looking at in the consumer and leisure sector this year.”
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