Mexican restaurant chain Chilango has set a new record for the amount of investment raised on an Exeter-based crowdfunding platform.
A total of 749 people have put just over £2.1 million into the Burrito Bond in return for eight per cent gross interest per annum during the four-year term of the bond.
This is the largest amount ever raised on Crowdcube, beating last year's record set by Hab Housing of £1.97 million. The average amount invested is approximately £2,900, with the largest investment at £50,000. People invested from Cornwall to Scotland but 82 per cent of bond holders live in London and the South East.
Women account for 22 per cent of the whole set, investing £500,000 between them.
As well as the interest, investors receive a variety of benefits including two free burrito vouchers to all those that invest and a VIP bondholder party to the first 100 investors.
In addition, the 102 people that invested £10,000 or more will receive Chilango Black Cards entitling them to a free meal per week for the duration of the bond.
The funds raised will help open the next three Chilango restaurants, alongside the seven existing branches in London.
Eric Partaker, co-founder of Chilango, said: "The brand awareness and engagement we created, together with Crowdcube, is simply off-the-charts. The bond has been a massive success; we not only raised the capital we needed to open our next batch of restaurants, but have also created 749 brand ambassadors to support our growth. The team at Crowdcube made the whole process straightforward and efficient and it's an experience we look forward to repeating. Debt options for SMEs in Britain have expanded in a major way, and it was delight to help spearhead this new and exciting route to funding."
Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, said: "It's great that the Burrito Bond has attracted so many people who not only believe in Chilango's future as a viable, profitable business, but are also fans of its fabulous fresh food. This was the first mini-bond to launch on Crowdcube and it's shown the British public is really open to alternative ways of getting a return on their savings beyond banks and building societies."
