Kibou is looking north for its next expansion steps and will debut in the region next year, according to MD Sam Horswill.
The brand, known for its quirky interiors and menu of classic and contemporary Japanese hot food and sushi, currently operates across Cheltenham, Bristol, Solihull, Battersea, and Cambridge, and will open a sixth site in Jericho, Oxford next month.
“In the short future, we’re looking ahead potentially to Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds. These are three cities that we’ve got half an eye on,” Horswill tells MCA.
“We’re looking at those cities with a view to opening one, maybe two sites a year. Obviously, our main focus at the moment is getting Oxford open and making sure that it hits the ground running as Cambridge did.”
Kibou’s Cambridge site, which opened in 2023, has been a remarkable success, says the MD, outperforming expectations and confirming the brand’s blueprint for future locations in larger cities, versus its traditional market town counterparts.
The brand’s strategy now capitalises on higher footfall areas. “We have beautiful little community restaurants, but larger restaurants in higher footfall areas like Cambridge have really worked for us. So, it feels like we’ve got a good blueprint for the future,” Horswill notes.
The Oxford site, set to open in July, also features 100+ covers, a large courtyard, and a big private dining room upstairs, promising to capitalise on the weekend demand seen across Kibou locations.
The company remains actively seeking investment to support its growth plans, alongside Dow Schofield Watts. Currently, hospitality veteran and Regent Inns founder, David Franks is a majority shareholder.
“There are a few conversations going on, but it’s in very early stages. They are currently looking for potential investors for us. It’s about finding people who are going to be the right fit culturally and share similar views in terms of what the opportunity is for the restaurants,” Horswill explains.
Kibou’s focus remains on maintaining the quality and character of its sites. “Heading up north is the agreed plan, but finding the right site that’s going to be big enough, with character is essential.
“We’ve got beautiful character in our restaurants, and in small local areas - that could be a compromise when you’re going for bigger units,” Horswill says. “Hopefully we can tick all the boxes when we venture up north looking for site seven and eight.”
Despite industry challenges, Kibou has seen encouraging recent trading.“In terms of like-for-like figures, we’re tracking ahead of last year.The bigger positive for us is we’ve focused on getting volume growth in the business, and the last three months have shown a positive story on that front.”
“We’ve been really cautious with price and now we’re beginning to see volume growth, we can put some small increases back on the table as an option.
Another recent focus has been cementing company values and vision amongst new and existing team members. “I’ve taken our support team around to each restaurant to talk about the history of Kibou, our values, and the importance of our people strategy,” says the managing director.
As a reminder of this, the business has incorporated the names of team members with two years plus service into the restaurant design, using Japanese block print wall hangings. “The evolution of the brand is being driven by the people running our restaurants.”
“We’ve been really re-emphasising that with the team because as we bring new people on board, I think it’s important to make sure that the core message about the sort of business that we want to create is really clear,” he adds.
