Japanese restaurant chain Wasabi secures £30m for London expansion plans

Wasabi, the Japanese sushi and bento restaurant chain, has secured a £30m Revolving Credit Facility from HSBC to support its 2018/19 expansion plans.

Part of the funding from HSBC will help with the rollout of new Wasabi restaurants across London, the first of which will open in Russell Square this spring.

The funding will also be used to help expand Wasabi’s Japanese and Korean bakery chain, Soboro, which it also plans to bring to London later this year.

Further investment will be allocated to Wasabi’s Central Processing Unit (CPU) in Park Royal, West London, where the company consolidated its warehouse and kitchen operations in 2016.

HSBC’s support means Wasabi can improve operational productivity and efficiencies across the business, while striving for product consistency. At 65,000 square feet, the CPU provides plenty of room for expansion, which the new funding is also expected to facilitate in the future.

Frederic Lluch, Wasabi Managing director, said: “Continuing to drive expansion is top of our agenda and with HSBC’s support, led by our relationship director Chris Priest, the new financial year will see us increase the presence of both our brands in London.

“We’ll also be looking to build on our strategic partnerships as well as continuing to look at operational advancements.”

Nick Hicks, HSBC’s area director for Sussex & Surrey corporate banking centre, added: “We have forged a good relationship with the Wasabi team, supporting the company’s growth both here and in the US over the last few years.

“We’ve been able to draw on our global expertise to put a competitive and tailored finance package in place which we hope will help the business continue to realise its future expansion plans.”

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