Asian restaurant bags £2m investment with Metro Bank

Today (August 9), Metro Bank has announced that it has provided Asian quick-service restaurant chain, Chopstix, with a £2m debt facility to support its UK expansion programme.

Chopstix will use the capital injection to open restaurants across the UK and has recently opened a new site in Bluewater, Kent.

Last year, Metro Bank also provided its long-term customer with a £3m loan to complete its first-ever acquisition of the Belfast-based noodle bar, Yangtze.

Mark Stokes, managing director of commercial banking at Metro Bank, said: “Chopstix is marking its territory as a strong-performing business in the fast-food market, and we’re thrilled to be on this journey with the company.

“Our customer-focused service combined with our extensive industry knowledge has enabled us to create another tailor-made funding solution, which will take Chopstix to the next stage of their growth ambitions.

“We look forward to supporting their future strategic plans with additional resources over the years to come.”

Established in 2004, Chopstix is a noodle bar take away restaurant with over 80 sites across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The chain has over 400 employees who provide its affordable, fresh and tasty Asian cuisine in food courts, motorway services and high street locations.

Sam Elia and Menashe Sadik, co-founders of Chopstix, added: “Metro Bank provided the Chopstix team with an excellent service when we acquired the Yangtze business last year, and they have continued to show the same level of enthusiasm with our latest funding package.

“Through speed and ease, the Large Commercial team was able to meet our needs and understand the group’s vision to provide more communities with the Chopstix experience.

“We remain huge fans of Metro Bank and look forward to working with the team on upcoming projects.”