Indian restaurant chain Mowgli Street Food is on track to increase its staff numbers to 700 by the middle of next year as it prepares to open its 13th location.
The Liverpool-headquartered company, which was founded by West Lancashire-born barrister-turned-entrepreneur Nisha Katona, will open in London’s Charlotte Street in November.
The latest move comes ahead of planned expansion in Preston, Bristol, Brighton, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
READ MORE: Indian restaurant group Mowgli Street Food eyes expansion after Covid-hit year
The business has been backed by private equity firm Foresight Group since it injected £3.5m in 2017. At the time, Mowgli was operating from two sites in Liverpool and Manchester.
Mowgli is aiming to launch four to five new restaurants per year and has ambitions to open in Newcastle, Chelmsford and Cambridge.
Nisha Katona said: "Foresight and its expert advisors have supported our continued growth, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, allowing us to expand into new geographies without compromising the quality of our offering.
"They have stood shoulder to shoulder with us as we emerged from the Covid crisis in a position of strength and resilience in the face of the unprecedented circumstances facing our sector at present.
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"Being primarily based outside of London in university cities and towns has helped to counter any recruitment issues. We currently have 510 members of staff and create 40 new local jobs in each city we open in, so by July 2022 we will employ just under 700 members of staff.
"And we operate a tight supply chain with many of our recipes based around pulses, rather than red meat, which has helped to protect us from supply shortages.
"What we want to do now is build on our strong position by expanding further, all the while maintaining our brand integrity and continuing to offer customers what they have always loved about Mowgli. Foresight is supporting that vision and has made running the business stress free.
"There has been a level governance, but they understand that we want to keep the brand precious and haven't forced us to compromise – there's been no pressure to do home delivery or meal kits, for instance. The Foresight team is patient, and they are enabling us to remain precious, independent and cult."
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Foresight partner Claire Alvarez added: "It has been an absolute pleasure supporting Nisha on her journey to take Mowgli Street Food from a regional business to a nationwide operation.
"We recognised from the beginning that the brand had enormous potential and it's thanks to Nisha's passion and willingness to work in partnership with our team that Mowgli Street Food continues to thrive, even against the toughest odds.
"We are very excited about what the future holds for the business and are proud that it was conceived in the North West."