'High-end' London bakery bags over £400k in angel investment with AIN

London-based bakery Orée has raised £425k through Angel Investment Network (AIN).

AIN is said to be the UK’s largest online platform connecting angel investors with startup businesses. The French-style, high-end bakery started trading in March 2016 and currently has two shops at 275/277 Fulham Road and 147 Kensington High Street.

The funding will finance the opening of the next shop based in Covent Garden with a further location in London Bridg e set for later in the year. The ambition is for more than a dozen shops across London and an international expansion.

Xavier Ballester, AIN’s director who brokered the deal, said: “Orée was of strong interest to our investors with its offering of a premium, authentic French Patisserie to a market that is increasingly captivated by continental cuisine.

“It satisfies several consumer trends that have characterised the UK casual dining market in the past couple of years, including ‘premiumisation’ and a concern for provenance.”

The raise is one of the largest for a food business in AIN’s 14-year history. The highest to date was the £600k raise for Rosa’s Thai Cafe which raised £500k through AIN in 2014 and has since delivered returns to investors via a private equity buyout.

Orée bridges the £8bn bakery market and the £6bn café and coffee shop market, both experiencing annual growth of 2.5 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively.

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