Bancone exceeds crowdfunding target with six days to go

Pasta restaurant group Bancone has exceeded its £700,000 crowdfunding target with six days still to go.

The business has so far managed to raise £727,590 through 647 investors and plans to use the funds to open further London restaurants next year. The crowdfund offered 4.48% equity and valued the company at £15.5m.

Depending on the amount raised, the group said it had sites potentially lined up in Borough, Battersea, Notting Hill and Shoreditch.

Bancone serves fresh handmade pasta and was founded by Will Ellner and his business partner David Ramsay in London's Covent Garden in 2018. A second site opened in Golden Square, Soho, in 2019.

Both sites have recorded positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) between February and October this year. The restaurants serve approximately 4,500 customers every week with an average spend of £30 per person, recording turnover of around £110,000-£120,000 per week and year-to-date sales of £3.8m with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of £53,0000.

Ben Waugh, former head chef at Gordon Ramsay's Pétrus, joined Bancone as group executive chef earlier this year.