The story of northern-based Thai Leisure Group starts like a Hollywood film. Girl comes from humble beginnings in a small Thai village, has limited education, works in clothing factories, starts a small food stall on Bangkok’s busy streets, moves to the UK, opens a chain of highly successful restaurants, prepares to conquer the country. Roll credits…
But this is real life. This is Kim Kaewkraikhot’s story. Along with business partner Martin Stead and Ian Leigh, director of group operations, who has been with the group from the start, the trio has created one of northern England’s most popular and successful Thai restaurant chains – the Thai Leisure Group.
Now there are now plans to take the 10-year-old company south with eyes fixed on London. Over the next five years it wants to build a portfolio of 30 restaurants with a turnover of £70m. It currently runs 11 eateries with a £26m turnover.
The push for expansion comes from the group honing its skills around the north’s and Scotland’s main cities. Leigh admits that when the group opened its first eatery in Leeds in December 2004 the business plan was far from concrete.
“In the last few years we’ve put a lot of structure in place and now we have got a very well-organised strategy, whereas before I think it’s fair to say Martin and Kim followed their instincts and opened [restaurants] as and when they could,” he says.
TLG now employs 400 people across two brands – Chaophraya, a gourmet offering, and Thaikhun, a newer, casual concept – with restaurants in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Glasgow.
And it has its own special USP.
Leigh says: “We’re so authentic, we’ve even got our own dance troupe of ladyboys. They’ve danced at every one of our openings. It’s not the ladyboys of Bangkok, it’s the ladyboys of Chaophraya,” says Leigh.
TLG’s business has so far been broadly developed in three phases.
“Martin refers [to them as] chapters. Chapter one was Martin and Kim pretty much alone working on individual sites. First Leeds, then Manchester, then Liverpool. They worked on these one-to-one with no strong infrastructure in place.
“Chapter two is what we call the evolution of it all, where we put together a senior management team, processes and systems. We had a blueprint for success, which is how we run a restaurant and make it work.”
Leigh adds: “Now with an infrastructure and crucially with funding in place we can forge ahead with chapter three which is a forthright, full-on roll-out plan.”
The expansion is bank-financed and although Leigh is reticent on putting a figure on the amount, he says the backing is “significant”. The official TGL line is that the company is “on the edge of completing a multi-million-pound investment which will help secure our 2015 and 2016 roll-out plans”. Reports in September claimed it is a £19m private equity fund deal.
“The money, whatever the final amount, will help us open six restaurants so let’s say five or six restaurants next year and then six or seven the year after,” says Leigh.
He says it will be mainly the Thaikhun brand that will be taken south, with target locations such as King’s Cross, Islington, Shoreditch, Soho and the West End.
Current plans are for as many as five Thaikhuns and one Chaophraya.
“We’ve got a pincer movement strategy. If we take the two brands, one is fast, casual street food, authentic Thai and the other is premium Thai cuisine, then the same person could be a customer for both,” says Leigh.
He adds: “We haven’t got a specific London site signed up but we’re speaking to landlords and looking at sites. It’s a case of watch this space because it’s part of our strategy to get to the capital. We know we want national brand coverage so we’ve got to be in London.”
But breaking into the southern market is not an easy feat. It is fraught with issues, including proving covenant strength, higher financial costs and brand recognition.
“Brand perception for those chains moving from the north will be key,” says Savills leisure team director David Bell. “They will be established in the north but there will be [no] perception in the south. The consumer in the north is very different than in the south.”
And there is a also a mass of competition to contend with. An average of 200 restaurants open a year in and around London, according to the Coffer Group.
But TGL isn’t worried. Leigh has great confidence in the brand and believes it will work all over the country.
“Some people say customers in London are more discerning. I don’t think that’s necessarily true. The numbers are massive compared with the north and if you put your flag in the ground in the right place you’ll get the people coming in and if you do a good job you keep them coming in,” he says.
“We believe we appeal to a cosmopolitan customer base, a progressive, forward-thinking, quite adventurous crowd and there’s plenty of that going on in London. It’s not been a fear thing. We’ve been waiting for the right opportunity.”
So while breaking into a new market this year may be a huge challenge for the woman who came from nothing to build an empire and her team, it’s one TLG is ready to devour.
And Kaewkraikhot has more than her culinary reputation to wow the capital’s diners; she also has her troupe of dancing ladyboys.
The brands
Chaophraya – Up to 17,000 sq ft, usually set over two to three floors covering up to 350 customers. Described as Thai gourmet dining with branches in Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Sheffield. Brands operating within the Chaophraya family include Palm Sugar Lounge Bar, Chaobaby Thai Banquet and YeeRah.
Thaikhun – 3,000-4,000 sq ft, usually over one level featuring bench-style seating, and butcher’s block tabletops. A takeout waiting area opens onto the street where customers can buy food. Located on mainly on city centre, high street and shopping centre locations and in core business districts. A casual Thai dining experience when compared with the established Chaophraya brand. The first restaurant was opened at Spinningfields in Manchester in May 2014, with a second in Scotland in July.
From humble beginnings
Born in Kirimart Village, Thailand, on 6 November 1968, Thai Leisure Group co-founder Kim Kaewkraikhot came from humble beginnings, having lost her father and brother at a young age. Her education was limited, she reached grade four in a remote school in Thailand. Leaving her village aged eight, Kaewkraikhot worked in clothing factories before becoming the factory chef, cooking for 50 staff. In 1993 Kaewkraikhot started a small Pad Thai cart on the streets of Bangkok, eventually adding noodle stalls. Her food soon became renowned for its flavour. Her recipes, including her secret Pad Thai recipe, became famous and are still used in the restaurants today. When Martin Stead met Kaewkraikhot, the pair decided to bring authentic Thai cuisine and genuine Thai hospitality to the UK. The first restaurant – Chaophraya – opened in Leeds in 2004.
