Mowgli Street Food, the restaurant chain owned by celebrity chef Nisha Katona, slipped into the red despite record sales in the last financial year.

The Liverpool-headquartered restaurant reported revenue of £30.8 million for the year to July 31, 2023, compared with £26.8 million in the previous 12 months.

However, accounts recently filed with Companies House also show that Mowgli Street Food made an operating loss of £86,026, after previously making a profit of £2 million.

Over the course of the year, the average number of employees at Mowgli Street Food increased from 633 to 704.

New locations increase sales at Mowgli Street Food

A statement signed by the board said: “The company reported a 15 per cent increase in turnover to £30.9 million during the financial year, driven by two new store openings in the same period and growth in the existing portfolio.”

“The growth occurs despite lower VAT rates in the previous year.

“The company operated 17 restaurants across the country at year-end and had leases secured or under negotiation for additional openings in the coming years.

“After the end of the year, the company successfully opened four restaurants, bringing the total to 21 locations.”

It continued: “While there remains significant uncertainty about the overall economic outlook for the UK, the Company is confident that it can withstand market pressures through an excellent and consistent offering, a compelling value proposition and effective management controls.”

Private equity support

The results are the first since private equity firm TriSpan made a significant investment in Mowgli Street Food.

TriSpan’s investments include companies such as Pho and sk:n and the company has offices in London and New York.

The deal, announced in January 2023, enabled Foresight to exit. The company first invested in Mowgli Street Food in 2017, when it only had two locations in Liverpool and one in Manchester.

Nisha Katona founded Mowgli Street Food in Liverpool in 2014 and was awarded an MBE in 2019 for her services to the food industry.

She is also a well-known cookbook author and television chef and regularly appears on popular shows such as This Morning and MasterChef.