Winchester-based pizzeria Pi has hit its £500,000 fundraising target via the Growthdeck private investor platform. It is currently 116% funded and still open for further investment for a limited time at A Chinese backer is putting in a £200k loan, and Pi’s new Battersea venue is getting lots of great press and reviews.
The company, founded by Rosie Whaley, is offering a 30% equity stake in return for the investment. So far, 34 investors have pledged £582,016. In the year to 30 April 2017 the business, which opened its second site, in Battersea, last month, achieved sales of £415,000 and an operating profit of more than £27,000. It is targeting two more London sites by 2020, opening at the rate of one a year.
The Pi format is based on 20-inch sharing pizzas with customers able to choose up to three flavour combinations. Everything is freshly made on-site, with the pizza made from Pi’s 72-hour fermented dough. The company is targeting sites of 50 to 70 covers that require circa £100,000 to fit-out in addition to lease premiums.
Gary Robins, Head of Investment at Growthdeck, comments: “We are delighted to be raising further funds to be underpinning the growth of this exciting business. The new Battersea site is such a great launch pad for the planned London expansion. The fact that a Chinese investor has committed funding to the company, and will play a role in it, is a very significant development”.