Gary Usher announces plans to bolster Elite Bistros by selling shares in the business

Gary Usher has announced plans to raise £2m by selling shares in his restaurant business Elite Bistros to strengthen the business, create a new brand within it and open three further sites.

Posting on Twitter, the winner of the 2021 Restaurateur of the Year – Independent Catey said the Crowdcube raise would launch on 4 April.

Elite Bistros' sites include Sticky Walnut in Hoole, Chester, the first solo restaurant for Usher, which opened in 2011; Burnt Truffle in Heswall on the Wirral, which opened in July 2015; Hispi in Didsbury, south Manchester; Wreckfish in Liverpool; Pinion in Prescot; and Kala in Manchester, which opened in 2019. All sites apart from Sticky Walnut were crowdfunded.

Last year, the group also crowdfunded the launch of an event catering business.