BAR Soba is to open a further seven outlets after a £3 million investment from BGF (Business Growth Fund) and said it plans to become a “truly national brand”.
The bar group, which has three sites in its home city of Glasgow, in addition to outlets in Edinburgh and Leeds, is scouting sites in Aberdeen, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.
Bar Soba specialises in Asian cuisine and cocktails. Chief executive Brad Stevens opened the first outlet in Mitchell Lane in after operating a successful pop-up restaurant at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1997.
“I’m really excited about our ambitious expansion plans and that we’ve found the right partner to provide the funding and expertise we need to accelerate our growth,” said Mr Stevens.
Coinciding with the investment, industry veteran Mohan Mansigani has joined the company as chairman.
He has held the role of finance director at Costa Coffee and TGI Fridays.
“I’m looking forward to working with Brad to help him fulfil his ambitions for the business, which I believe will prove to be just as popular in the north of England and further afield as it has been in its Scottish heartland,” he said.
Bar Soba has laid out ambitious plans to become a “truly national brand and one of the few born in Scotland to then grow south of the border”.
This first stage of investment from BGF is supporting its immediate growth, while the business plans to eventually grow to 30 sites.
BGF generally invests between £2m and £10m in businesses turning over £5m to £100m. It is run as an independent company with capital of up to £2.5 billion and is backed by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered.
Bar Soba is on course to turn over more than £6m in its current financial year.
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