Wasabi (restaurant)

Last updated

Wasabi
Company typeLimited
IndustryFast Food
Founded2003
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Number of locations
47 (March 2022)
Area served
mostly London, other locations in England, [1] and New York, US [2]
Key people
 Dong Hyun Kim (Founder) Henry Birts (CEO)
RevenueIncrease2.svg £64 million (2014) [3]
Number of employees
1,500 (2015) [3]
Website www.wasabi.uk.com

Wasabi is a fast food restaurant chain based in the United Kingdom, focused on Japanese, East Asian-inspired fast food, especially sushi and bento, and operating primarily in London, England, with further branches elsewhere in England as of 2022. [1] Wasabi was founded in London in 2003 by Dong Hyun Kim, a South Korean entrepreneur. [4] In November 2019, Henry Birts joined as CEO. [5]

Contents

Funding

In October 2016, the company secured £25 million in debt financing from HSBC to support expansion. [6]

In May 2019, Capdesia, with co-investor Sushiro Global Holdings, purchased a minority stake of the company. [7]

Further investment was made by Capdesia with co-investor, Sushiro Global Holdings, in 2020 to become the majority stakeholder. After becoming a minority stakeholder, founder Dong Hyun Kim stepped away from company operations in November 2021. [8]

Finances

In August 2020, Wasabi launched a CVA proposal under the supervision of KPMG. [9] The main reason for this was to negotiate terms with creditors, especially lease agreement with landlords.

For the year ending in December 2020 during the covid pandemic in the UK, turnover dropped by 56.7%. [10] Thereafter turnover improved considerably and the chain was considering expansion in the suburbs, but it was reported in January 2023 that the group was in breach of some of its loan covenants; directors said they had a "reasonable expectation" that a waiver obtained from the lender would be extended, but that this cast "significant doubt" on the group's ability to continue as a going concern. [11]

Restaurants

As of February 2024, Wasabi has 41 outlets in England, 35 of which are in London. By February 2018, Wasabi had 61 branches around the world, [12] including two in New York, US. [2]

Since October 2017, Wasabi has also been opening sushi counters in some Marks & Spencer stores. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasabi</span> Species of edible plant

Wasabi or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russian Far East including Sakhalin, as well as the Korean Peninsula. It grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conveyor belt sushi</span> Restaurant where sushi is placed on a looping conveyor belt

Conveyor belt sushi, also called rotation sushi, is a type of sushi restaurant common in Japan. In Australasia, it is also known as a sushi train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caffè Nero</span> European style coffee house brand

Caffè Nero is a coffeehouse company headquartered in London, England. Established in 1997 by Gerry Ford, Caffè Nero runs more than 1,000 coffee houses in eleven countries: the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey, the UAE, Oman and the United States. In 2009, Caffè Nero bought and opened its own coffee roastery in Battersea, south London, which supplies the coffee to all its coffee houses worldwide.

YO! Sushi is a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants, principally in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Australia.

Prezzo Trading Limited, trading as Prezzo, is a restaurant chain serving mostly Italian cuisine in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first restaurant opened on New Oxford Street, London in November 2000. As of January 2019 there were more than 180 branches across the country, following many closures in 2018. It is part of Prezzo Holdings. The chain is currently owned by Cain International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kura Sushi</span> Japanese sushi restaurant chain

Kura Sushi is a Japanese sushi restaurant chain. It is the second largest sushi restaurant chain in Japan, behind Sushiro and ahead of Hama Sushi. Its headquarters are in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leon Restaurants</span> British restaurant chain

Leon is a fast food chain based in the United Kingdom, established in 2004. The company had around 70 outlets when it was bought by EG Group in 2021. Since October 2023, most of EG Group's former UK and Ireland business, including Leon, has been owned by the supermarket chain Asda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feng Sushi</span>

Feng Sushi is a UK-based restaurant chain known for advocating sustainable fish farming. The company was founded in 1999 by chef Silla Bjerrum and chef Jeremy Rose, with restaurant entrepreneur Luke Johnson the majority owner since 2010.

Silla Bjerrum is a restaurateur and Chef best known for her expertise in sushi.

Byron, is a British restaurant chain offering a casual dining service with a focus on hamburgers. The chain was founded in 2007 by Tom Byng. In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the chain closed outlets as part of a deal transferring 21 remaining sites and 551 staff to a new owner, Calveton UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wahaca</span> Mexican-style street food restaurant group in the United Kingdom

Wahaca is a UK restaurant group selling Mexican-style street food, co-founded by Thomasina Miers, with 13 branches in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawksmoor (restaurant)</span> British steakhouse and cocktail bar chain

Hawksmoor is a British steakhouse and cocktail bar chain started in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sticks'n'Sushi</span> Copenhagen-based restaurant and take-away chain

Sticks'n'Sushi is a Copenhagen-based restaurant and take-away group specialising in sushi and yakitori. It consists of 12 restaurants in the Greater Copenhagen area, 12 restaurants in the UK and three in Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carluccio's</span> British Italian restaurant chain

Carluccio's is an Italian restaurant chain founded in London in 1999.

Dong Hyun Kim is a South Korean businessman and fast food restaurateur based in Canada, who founded the East Asian-inspired restaurant chains Wasabi, Kimchee, and Kimchee To Go.

Slim Chickens is an American fast-casual restaurant chain which specializes in chicken tenders, wings, sandwiches, salads, wraps, chicken and waffles, and other items. It was founded in 2003 by Greg Smart and Tom Gordon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill's</span> British restaurant and bar chain

Bill's is a British restaurant and bar chain, founded by Bill Collison in 2001 when he opened a small greengrocery in Lewes, East Sussex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Côte</span> British restaurant chain

Côte Restaurants Group Limited, trading as Côte, stylised as CÔTE is a French-style British restaurant chain founded by Richard Caring, Andy Bassadone, Chris Benians and Nick Fiddler in Wimbledon, London in 2007. There are now over 84 restaurants in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handmade Burger Co</span> Chain restaurant

Handmade Burger Co is a restaurant chain in the United Kingdom serving beef, chicken and vegetable burgers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Doner Kebab</span> Fast casual kebab chain based in Glasgow

German Doner Kebab (GDK) is a fast casual kebab chain, specialising in German doner kebabs, owned by Hero Brands since 2017. Tracing its heritage to a restaurant in Berlin, Germany in 1989, the first site opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2013, the company was purchased with a majority share in 2017 by the Sarwar family and moved its headquarters to Glasgow, Scotland.

References

  1. 1 2 "Find a Wasabi". Wasabi. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Welcome to Wasabi!". Wasabi (US). Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 Sweeney, Kate (18 June 2015). "Sushi surge as Wasabi opens £1m Cambridge outlet". Business Weekly. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Anderson, Elizabeth (3 January 2015). "New York expansion eats into Wasabi profits". Telegraph. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Wasabi appoints Henry Birts as CEO". The Caterer. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. ↑ Ruthven, Hunter (31 October 2016). "Wasabi gobbles up £25m funding to roll out new sites". Real Business.
  7. ↑ "Wasabi sells minority stake to Capdesia Group". The Caterer. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  8. ↑ bighospitality.co.uk (November 2021). "Dong Hyun Kim to step away from Wasabi". bighospitality.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Wasabi launches CVA proposal - KPMG United Kingdom". KPMG. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Price, Katherine (11 March 2022). "Pandemic more than halved Wasabi turnover" . The Caterer.
  11. ↑ Price, Katherine (3 January 2023). "Wasabi eyes suburban expansion opportunities". The Caterer.
  12. ↑ "Branches". Wasabi. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  13. ↑ Weinbren, Emma. "M&S opens first Wasabi sushi counter". TheGrocer.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.