Experienced Restaurant Operators Seeking Strategic Partner for London Venture

[Arturo Civera]

Hello, I am the owner of Cuarte Restaurante, in Valencia, Spain.

We are about to start our third season and are very proud of the progress we have made. In our second season, revenue grew by 23%, in an almost flat market, and we currently have a 4.9/5 Google rating from 199 reviews. Most of that growth has come through customer satisfaction, repeat business and word of mouth rather than heavy advertising or social media.

We are now exploring the possibility of launching a new hospitality venture in London. We have developed several new ideas and believe that, with the right partner, we could build a more profitable and scalable business.

We are not looking for passive finance. We are looking for a hands-on strategic partner who can contribute capital, knowledge of the London market, and commercial and property expertise.

We are flexible about the final concept and would value a partner who can help us assess, adapt and validate the strongest opportunity for London.

If this sounds relevant to you, or if you know someone who might be interested, please feel free to contact us.

Best wishes.

 

[bickmack]

Good luck with it!

 

[Arturo Civera]

Thank you!

 

[ethical PR]

Sounds like you need an investor . Do you have a business plan and budget ?

 

[Arturo Civera]

We are not really looking for a passive investor, but for a strategic business partner.

We can partially fund the project ourselves and we are prepared to be fully involved in the operation, acting as the hands-on team responsible for maintaining quality, consistency and day-to-day execution.

What we need most is local knowledge: understanding the city, identifying the best suppliers, selecting the most suitable locations for the different ideas, assessing which concept has the strongest fit with the London market, and helping us make the right commercial decisions.

We would also value support with areas such as social media, marketing and local business development, as these are areas where a specialised partner could add significant value.

The project is not rigid. We have several ideas, but we are open to adapting them according to market conditions and the partner’s recommendations. We genuinely value different points of view and would prefer to discuss the viability of the project with someone who knows the London market well.

For the same reason, the detailed business plan and budget will depend on the final concept selected and validated. We have preliminary assumptions, but we believe it would be premature to define a fixed budget before agreeing on the format, location, size, target customer and operating model.

 

[fisicx]

Would the partner become a director and shareholder of the UK company?

Is this a paid role if you aren’t looking necessarily for financial investment?

 

[ethical PR]

We are not really looking for a passive investor, but for a strategic business partner.

We can partially fund the project ourselves and we are prepared to be fully involved in the operation, acting as the hands-on team responsible for maintaining quality, consistency and day-to-day execution.

What we need most is local knowledge: understanding the city, identifying the best suppliers, selecting the most suitable locations for the different ideas, assessing which concept has the strongest fit with the London market, and helping us make the right commercial decisions.

We would also value support with areas such as social media, marketing and local business development, as these are areas where a specialised partner could add significant value.

The project is not rigid. We have several ideas, but we are open to adapting them according to market conditions and the partner’s recommendations. We genuinely value different points of view and would prefer to discuss the viability of the project with someone who knows the London market well.

For the same reason, the detailed business plan and budget will depend on the final concept selected and validated. We have preliminary assumptions, but we believe it would be premature to define a fixed budget before agreeing on the format, location, size, target customer and operating model.

I didn't say passive .

About a third of UK restaurants fail in the first year. The rate is higher in London .

It sounds like you need to pay an expert to develop a restaurant concept and identify locations and suppliers etc

And a separate restaurant marketing expert that you pay to help you launch and ongoing comms.

London isn't necessarily the best place for a restaurant start up.

 

[Vincent79]

I work with lots of Hospitality businesses in a financial role. Can I suggest you advertise or get this mentioned in the Hotel & Caterer magazine. The people you are looking for all read that magazine.

 

[Arturo Civera]

I didn't say passive .

About a third of UK restaurants fail in the first year. The rate is higher in London .

It sounds like you need to pay an expert to develop a restaurant concept and identify locations and suppliers etc

And a separate restaurant marketing expert that you pay to help you launch and ongoing comms.

London isn't necessarily the best place for a restaurant start up.

Thanks, that’s a fair point I understand the distinction and deeply thank you for your advice.

Restaurant failure rates are also very high in Spain, which is one of the reasons why we are not approaching this as complete newcomers. We are starting from a business that already works here, with proven growth, strong customer feedback and hands-on operating experience.

We also already have the business ideas and concepts developed. What we are not looking for is someone to invent a restaurant concept for us, but someone who can help us assess which of those ideas has the best fit for London, and advise on location, suppliers, property, market positioning and local commercial realities.

We can contribute capital ourselves and take responsibility for operations, quality and day-to-day execution. What we lack is deep London knowledge.

We are open to both routes: hiring specialists separately, or finding a partner who already has that expertise and wants to be economically aligned with the project. Our priority is to reduce execution risk and validate the final concept before committing significant capital.

 

[Arturo Civera]

Would the partner become a director and shareholder of the UK company?

Is this a paid role if you aren’t looking necessarily for financial investment?

Yes, potentially. We are looking for a genuine strategic partner rather than an external adviser, so we would be open to the right person becoming a shareholder and, if appropriate, a director of the UK company.

We are also prepared to invest our own capital. The exact structure would depend on what each party contributes financially and strategically, and on the responsibilities agreed.

If the person were only providing advisory or specialist support without investing or taking equity, then that would be a separate paid professional role. Our preference, however, is to find someone whose interests are aligned with ours through real participation in the business.

 

[Arturo Civera]

I work with lots of Hospitality businesses in a financial role. Can I suggest you advertise or get this mentioned in the Hotel & Caterer magazine. The people you are looking for all read that magazine.

Thanks, that’s really useful advice. We weren’t aware of Hotel & Caterer, but it sounds exactly like the kind of audience we’re trying to reach. We’ll definitely look into whether there is a suitable way to advertise or get the opportunity mentioned there. Much appreciated.

 

[Mark T Jones]

On the positive side, this is undoubtedly one of the best / most coherent partner investor threads I have seen.

Less good, UK restaurants are really
struggling (way beyond the usual). A common discussion with my restaurant clients isn't around growth, its around bridging cashflow gaps (not what I do) or getting out of agreements/commitments.

Doom and gloom aside, trade press has been mentioned- also look at online communities

Above all, be absolutely clear in both your offering and your requirements- nothing attracts nutters quite like hospitality

 

[Arturo Civera]

On the positive side, this is undoubtedly one of the best / most coherent partner investor threads I have seen.

Less good, UK restaurants are really
struggling (way beyond the usual). A common discussion with my restaurant clients isn't around growth, its around bridging cashflow gaps (not what I do) or getting out of agreements/commitments.

Doom and gloom aside, trade press has been mentioned- also look at online communities

Above all, be absolutely clear in both your offering and your requirements- nothing attracts nutters quite like hospitality

I’ve been visiting London regularly for the past two years, and I can definitely relate to what you’re saying. Over the last year in particular, I’ve noticed the city feeling a little quieter in this respect — fewer people eating out and less food being consumed on the go.

Both Spain and the UK are currently seeing around 4% growth in restaurant turnover, so the environment is clearly challenging. That said, we remain optimistic. We started our project in Spain at a difficult time and have managed to navigate that successfully, which gives us confidence in what we can build next.

From what we’ve seen in London, we also believe there is real potential for scalability, especially with a differentiated and innovative gastronomic concept.

Thank you very much for the thoughtful recommendations and perspective — really appreciated. Wishing you the very best of luck as well.

 

[Vincent79]

Thanks, that’s really useful advice. We weren’t aware of Hotel & Caterer, but it sounds exactly like the kind of audience we’re trying to reach. We’ll definitely look into whether there is a suitable way to advertise or get the opportunity mentioned there. Much appreciated.

Arturo would strongly recommend looking at their website wwwthecaterer.com and contacting them. This is the website/magazine all the major restaurant owners read. If you do come to London it must be in a Central London location, higher rent but lots more customers.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

My question is that after only 3 years at your present site, do you have the management experience to run a second outlet in another country, also the hospitality sector in the UK is currently crying out to the government for help, which is hardly a good sign for the near future. plus only 199 reviews is hardly encouraging for a 3 year old outlet,

Maybe staying in spain and gaining experience or running 2 companies with your own skills may be a wiser route

 

[Mark T Jones]

I’ve been visiting London regularly for the past two years, and I can definitely relate to what you’re saying. Over the last year in particular, I’ve noticed the city feeling a little quieter in this respect — fewer people eating out and less food being consumed on the go.

Both Spain and the UK are currently seeing around 4% growth in restaurant turnover, so the environment is clearly challenging. That said, we remain optimistic. We started our project in Spain at a difficult time and have managed to navigate that successfully, which gives us confidence in what we can build next.

From what we’ve seen in London, we also believe there is real potential for scalability, especially with a differentiated and innovative gastronomic concept.

Thank you very much for the thoughtful recommendations and perspective — really appreciated. Wishing you the very best of luck as well.

You need to look a little deeper.

the biggest issue here isn't demand - which is surprisingly resilient - it's costs.

Pretty much all key overheads have risen, some stratospherically.

Plus labour (AKA, lack of immigration) - it's hard to find quality, hard-working staff, particularly in London.

Burnham has made noises to address the situation, but it is still tough going.

 

[Arturo Civera]

Hello

 

[Arturo Civera]

You need to look a little deeper.

the biggest issue here isn't demand - which is surprisingly resilient - it's costs.

Pretty much all key overheads have risen, some stratospherically.

Plus labour (AKA, lack of immigration) - it's hard to find quality, hard-working staff, particularly in London.

Burnham has made noises to address the situation, but it is still tough going.

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of local insight we are looking for.

The cost structure seems much more challenging than in Spain, particularly labour, property and other fixed overheads.

This is also one of the reasons why we are not looking to reproduce Cuarte Restaurante in London, regarding it a difficultly scalable project. The concepts we are considering are deliberately simpler than our current cuisine, with a leaner operating model, more efficient preparation, fewer moving parts, a relatively small team, strong throughput and tighter control of food and labour costs.

Staffing is probably one of the areas where we have the least local knowledge, so understanding realistic wages, availability, productivity and recruitment is something we would want to assess very carefully before committing.

One operational advantage we would bring is that both of us are fully capable in the kitchen and in service. As the business begins to scale, having two founders who can step into operational roles when necessary — for example to cover an unexpected absence or support a new opening — provides an additional layer of resilience while the management structure is being built.

For us, the question is not simply whether London has enough demand, but whether we can design a simpler model where the additional revenue potential more than compensates for the higher cost base. If it cannot, we simply would not proceed.

This kind of feedback is precisely why we are taking our time and looking for someone with real London experience rather than assuming wrongly that what works in Valencia can just be transferred directly.

We are also taking the process slowly. We will continue operating profitably in Valencia while we look for the right strategic partner and study the market in greater depth. By the time the right partnership and concept are ready, the cost and labour situation in the UK may also have improved.

We are under no pressure to move quickly and would rather wait for the right conditions than force the project into an unfavourable market.

 

[Arturo Civera]

My question is that after only 3 years at your present site, do you have the management experience to run a second outlet in another country, also the hospitality sector in the UK is currently crying out to the government for help, which is hardly a good sign for the near future. plus only 199 reviews is hardly encouraging for a 3 year old outlet,

Maybe staying in spain and gaining experience or running 2 companies with your own skills may be a wiser route

Thanks for the honest feedback. Just to clarify a few points.

We have not been trading for three full years. We have completed two full seasons and are now preparing to begin our third.

Cuarte Restaurante is not a failing business — quite the opposite. It grew 23% in its second season, is profitable, and has built a strong customer base. We also own the restaurant premises, so if we eventually decide to move to London, we could lease the property and create an additional income stream rather than simply walking away from the asset.

Regarding the 199 Google reviews, the number also needs to be considered in the context of the size and format of our restaurant. We are not a large-volume venue, and our customer base is not particularly driven by Instagram, food photography or online reviewing. Many of our regular customers simply come, spend well, return and recommend us privately. We have never pushed customers to leave reviews or invested heavily in social media.

What matters more to us is the combination of a 4.9/5 rating, repeat business, strong average spend and 23% revenue growth, achieved largely through word of mouth.

The main reason we are considering London is scalability. We currently invest a very high level of personal effort into a single restaurant. London offers a much larger market, greater customer density, stronger brand-building potential and, if the right concept is selected, the possibility of turning that same operational effort into a business with significantly greater growth potential.

That is the only reason we are considering such a move: not to work harder, but to build something on a simpler cooking formula, where the same commitment can generate better returns and eventually support multiple locations.

We also have a broader business portfolio that does not require our daily personal involvement. The restaurant is the exception because hospitality is our passion and we choose to be directly involved in it.

We are fully aware that London is a tougher and more expensive market. That is precisely why we are looking for a strategic partner with deep local knowledge before making a decision. If the economics do not support a more scalable model, we would not move simply for the sake of being in London.

We are also in no rush. We will start and complete our third season in Valencia while we continue looking for the right partner and evaluating the opportunity carefully. If the right conditions are not there, we are perfectly prepared to continue into a fourth season, a fifth, or longer.

Cuarte Restaurante remains profitable and continues to generate income, so we are under no pressure to accept the wrong deal or move before the conditions are right. We would rather take our time, keep earning from the businesses we already have, and only move forward in London if the partnership, concept and economics genuinely justify it.