£50m secured for farm shop franchises

A businessman who tried to buy the Little Chef roadside restaurant business last year says he has secured £50m of funding to set up a nationwide chain of franchised farm shops and restaurants.

Robert Elwes, farmer and founder of the Friendly Farmer farm shop at Newark, Lincolnshire, said he had identified 267 potential sites and was hoping to acquire a first tranche of about 50 by spring next year.

Mr Elwes said he had been inundated with enquires from farmers and catering businesses when he was looking for partners to help with the Little Chef bid. He said he was now looking for farmers to operate the new franchises.

“Many farmer may be pleased to know that the City has shown confidence in our consortium bid to establish farm shops and local produce restaurants on UK trunk roads and motorways,” said Mr Elwes.

“We have now raised a staggering commitment of £50m towards what is for me yet another untapped opportunity to offer long-suffering motorists and local customers direct catering using wherever possible the best British produce,” he added.

Raising money for the venture had not been hampered by the recent credit crisis, said Mr Elwes. “In fact, because of the credit crunch, a lot of venture capital firms are stuck for opportunities to invest in.”

Buying a franchise would cost about £20,000, he said. A rental fee would be payable on top of this and operators could either buy produce from Mr Elwes’ Farmer Consortium or source their own stock.

“This is not a new concept and the idea stems from German farm shops, but it does offer many farmers farm shop franchise or management opportunities with full retail and catering management support as well as offering considerable scope for local farm produce,” he said.

A new brand and the name of the catering company would be announced in the spring, said Mr Elwes.

“We hope to open on roadside sites with existing branded catering outlets. We would also like to take on some traditional roadside catering operations as we have been welcomed by staff and unions who know my commitment to roadside catering and support our Farmers Consortium.”