Taste Gourmet Group plans to spend about HK$50 million (US$6.3 million) from its IPO proceeds to open eight restaurants in the next three years.
With restaurants serving Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Western cuisine, the company listed on the growth enterprise market board last month.
Since launching in 2007, Taste Gourmet now owns and runs 13 full-service restaurants and one quick-service restaurant in Hong Kong under six self-owned brands: Dab-pa Peking & Szechuan Bistro, Dab-pa Peking & Szechuan Cuisine, La’ Taste Vietnamese Cuisine, Nabe Urawa, Say Cheese and Urawa Japanese Restaurant. There is also one licensed brand, Fiat Caffe (pictured).
After receiving net proceeds of $68.3 million from its IPO, the company plans to use 68 per cent to open eight restaurants, three of them this year. Chairman Kent Wong Ngai-shan says there will be one Dab-pa restaurant at Citygate Outlets, and two of the flagship brand Nabe Urawa, in Tai Po district’s Uptown Plaza and Park Central at Tseung Kwan O.
About 12 per cent of net proceeds will be used for refurbishments.
Taste Gourmet this month signed with Uptown Plaza to open the Nabe Urawa, which offers semi-buffet-style Japanese hot pot. With 90 seats, it is set to open in April and is costing about $4.5 million.
The company’s net profit grew 18 per cent from $12 million in 2016 to $14.2 million last year. Revenue meanwhile rose 21.5 per cent from $163.4 million in 2016 to $198.6 million last year.
