Yorkshire healthy eating firm set to expand with £500k crowdfunding campaign

Filmore & Union, a Yorkshire based healthy eating company, is looking to significantly expand operations in the North of England with the launch a crowdfunding investment campaign this week.

The independent chain of healthy eating cafes and restaurants,is aiming to raise £500k for a 10% equity share through Europe’s largest crowdfunding investment platform, Crowdcube.

The funding will allow the company to carry out expansion plans and open additional sites across the North of England.

The family run company, which had a turnover of £3.2m in 2014, is the first Yorkshire business to pitch on Crowdcube and has already raised £86.6k from 21 investors.

Filmore & Union are forecasting that in five years time, the company will to have 30 sites with a combined group turnover of £20m

The company was founded in 2011 by Adele Carnell, a former wellness clinic owner, and Will Pugh, a Michelin trained chef, who spotted a gap in the high street for a healthy food brand.

After opening their first café and restaurant on Low Petergate, York, in March 2012, the duo now operate from 7 sites across Yorkshire, with three more planned to open in the next 3 months in Harrogate, Ilkley and Beverley.

Adele also invested £807k into the company in 2014 for a new CPU (Central Production Unit), warehouse and head office in Wetherby to facilitate the expansion and plan to use the £500k Crowdcube investment to continue their growth.

Adele, director of Filmore & Union, said: “This is such an exciting time for us and will be a pivotal turning point for the company. We’ve grown Filmore & Union from scratch but we now need help funding the growth of the business which is why we’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign. We can’t thank everyone enough for their continued support over the years and we hope that customers, friends and members of the public will share our vision and join us on our journey to become the leading healthy eatery in the North of England.”

Craig McKenna, Crowdcube’s investment manager for Scotland and the North of England, said: “We’re delighted to have Filmore & Union on board and are looking forward to working with such an interesting and dynamic business. Yorkshire is an important area of growth for us at Crowdcube so Filmore & Union will set the standard for what’s to come. We wish them all the best in achieving their campaign goals.”