Stevens & Bolton has advised cloud kitchen venture Karma Kitchen, and its founders Eccie and Gini Newton, on a Series A fundraising by existing investors and real estate investment management firm Vengrove Asset Management. The funding, which provides Vengrove with a minority stake in the company, will provide access to £252m to help fund expansion in the UK and across Europe.
Karma Kitchen provides shared and private commercial kitchen spaces to rent ('cloud kitchens'), transforming industrial spaces into flexible kitchens and co-working areas for the food and drink industry. With the significant rise in the food delivery market and the impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry, cloud kitchens have emerged as a new cost-effective way for restaurants and other food businesses to provide food for delivery, expand their consumer base and reach new regions.
Currently London-based, Karma Kitchen has a new site in Wood Green due to open in September 2020.
Co-founder Eccie Newton commented: "We are delighted to have completed our round with Vengrove Real Estate Management. Karma Kitchen is going to play a pivotal role in the bounce-back of the UK economy post-COVID and this is only the beginning. We really appreciated the support of Richard’s team at Stevens & Bolton throughout."
Richard Baxter, corporate partner at Stevens & Bolton added: "We have enjoyed working with the Karma Kitchen team on this strategic investment, completed during the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown. We wish them all the very best for their exciting scale-up plans ahead."
The Stevens & Bolton team was led by Richard Baxter, supported by Krishna Patel and Sarah Williams (corporate), and Ian Craig and Joanne Purnell (real estate).