Gary Usher’s new crowdfunding initiative was nearly two hours late going online last night, owing to ‘technical issues’. But still, the chef and owner of Elite Bistros managed to drum up a staggering £126,000 in just a few hours, as he opened up his business for people to buy shares in.
The man behind restaurants like Hispi, Kala, Burnt Truffle and Wreckfish, announced that he was planning to sell shares in the business earlier this year, with the crowdfund set up on the investment platform Seedrs. The huge sum was raised with the help of 305 investors.
“Wow, that was an intense start last night,” he said in a video posted to Twitter. “I’ve not had much sleep. We were meant to launch at six o’clock, but as anyone watching it saw, we didn’t launch till about half past seven. There were a few technical issues.
“But we launched, it was amazing, and within two hours, you lot had put a hundred grand in. It was amazing. We’ve got a long way to go, it’s a big project because we’ve got so many plans.
“But we’re on the case with it, and you’re on the case with it… We go again.”
The target is £750,000, with 3.61% equity in business being offered, with shares costing £4.17 each. The funding will go towards the company’s future projects, including his new pub The White Horse in Churton near Chester, set to open later in the year, and Joya, his new tapas restaurant concept.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Gary said: “It was amazing last night. We’ve alway been really lucky with our crowdfunds, and we weren’t sure how it would go with this because it’s so different, being equity based. But the positivity just felt exactly the same.
“To be honest with you, it’s the fastest one we’ve ever done so far. The targets we’re head, you go back to Kala, and we raised £100,000 in 11 hours. We’d raised £100,000 last night in two and a half hours. Amazing.
“I’m never confident, never ever, no matter what happens. But people were so positive beforehand. I think the rest of the team were quite confident, but I was absolutely sh*tting it, as normal.”
The first target is £750,000, a chunk of which will go towards the renovating and opening of the The White Horse, with a plan to extend the target to as much as £2 million, which would then include work on two sites for the Joya concept somewhere in the north west, and also bringing his red wine gravy to the retail market too.
“There’s a long way to go, but I think by now, everyone knows we’re up for a challenge. The plan ahead is to just be who we are, really, and believing in what we do, and try to communicate that,” he added.
He’s also planning to expand his HQ, also in Chester, into a development kitchen and masterclass venue, as well as transforming his catering business too. As for the first project, Gary is hoping that the pub will be open by the end of the year.
“If we’re not open by Christmas, I’ll be crying on Christmas Day,” he said.
All of Usher’s restaurants other than Sticky Walnut, in Hoole, have been opened using crowdfunding.
He’s also planning to expand his HQ, also in Chester, into a development kitchen and masterclass venue, as well as transforming his outside catering business too.
All of Usher’s restaurants other than Sticky Walnut, in Hoole, have been opened using crowdfunding.
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