Coconut Tree launches £1m fundraise as it targets 50 restaurants

Sri Lankan restaurant group Coconut Tree has launched a £1m crowdfunding campaign as it looks to expand across the UK.

The business was founded by five Sri Lankan friends living in the UK and has grown from trading out of a pub in Cheltenham to nine restaurants across the UK since 2016.

The Observer’s food critic reviewed its Cheltenham restaurant in 2019 and praised the brand as “being totally laid-back and completely on point at the same time”.

Its regional restaurants include sites in Bristol, Oxford and Birmingham and now the brand is looking to open two sites in London.

Coconut Tree is targeting a valuation of £100m by 2028 with an aim to grow annual revenue from £6.7m to £70m by 2028.

The business has forecast that it could grow to 13 sites by the end of the year, 28 sites by the end of 2026, and 50 sites by the end of 2028.

It is aiming to grow annual revenue from £6.7m to £70m by 2028.

In a video announcing the crowdfund, co-founder Mithra Fernando said: “We have got big plans and we want to invite our biggest fans to be a big part of it.”

He added: “We are launching our brand in London, we are opening more restaurants in the next few months and we want to invite you on the next stage of our exciting journey.

“The opportunity is huge, the ethnic food market is growing and Sri Lankan food is seeing a huge surge in popularity.”

He estimated that over the past seven years Coconut Tree has served over one million hoppers and poured over two million cocktails.

For more information, visit www.thecoconut-tree.com/jointhejourney/