Exclusive – Tipjar secures £4.5m funding boost: Cashless tipping platform Tipjar has secured £4.5m in new investment. The round, led by YFM Equity Partners and advised by Mountside Ventures, will enable Tipjar to expand its team, invest further in its people and accelerate product development. In this next phase of growth, the team will also explore expansion into new markets. Tipjar currently supports more than 5,000 hospitality sites across the UK and processes in excess of £130m in tips annually, supporting more than 75,000 sector workers. During a normal trading day, it processes around 1,000 tips per minute, providing faster payouts and real-time visibility. The latest funding round brings investment in Tipjar, which was founded in 2019, to £11.3m to date. Tipjar chief executive Ben Thomas said: “Over the past seven years, we’ve grown rapidly and established ourselves as the market leader in this space – so much so that no other tipping-focused platform has attracted this level of financial backing. This investment will accelerate our next stage of growth. We’re looking forward to working with YFM to support even more operators and employees.” Kit Maclaren, investment director at YFM, added: “Tipjar has established itself as the clear market leader in a fast-growing and increasingly regulated area of hospitality operations. The team has built a highly scalable platform with strong customer adoption and a compelling value proposition for both operators and staff.”

Propel launches Unlimited Plus option for Premium subscribers: Propel has launched a new Premium Unlimited Plus option for Propel subscribers. The Unlimited Plus option, which costs £1,995 plus VAT per annum, has some amazing additional benefits to the unlimited option, which costs £995 plus VAT. Subscribers get four free tickets to Propel’s paid-for conferences – Excellence in Pub & Bar (19 May), Operational Excellence (9 July) and Talent & Training (15 October) – and the opportunity to run one free sponsored message or situation vacant notice during the year on the newsletter. Existing subscribers can upgrade immediately and they get a full year from their renewal date plus the period between. The additional benefits are worth circa £2,500. Propel managing director Paul Charity said: “The Premium subscription is like a loyalty club and these additional benefits are a response to the requests for a fuller package of benefits. Existing subscribers can upgrade straightaway – and their year’s membership re-starts.  We have held the price of Premium membership for four years whilst adding benefits. Existing price points and benefits carry on – this is simply a chance to enjoy even more benefits.” Email: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to sign up for Premium.

Iro Sushi launches digital kiosks: Sushi brand Iro Sushi has launched digital kiosks as it looks to “streamline ordering and reduce waiting times during peak periods” and support its UK and international expansion ambitions. The new store design will be introduced at the forthcoming Iro Sushi site in Woking and will then be rolled out further across the estate. Iro Sushi Woking will open at 40-42 Commercial Road in the Surrey town later this month. Founder Chhong Sherpa said: “Over the last few years, we’ve invested heavily in the quality and authenticity of our food, and it was important that our restaurants reflected that same standard. The layout, branding and customer journey have all been developed so that the concept is easy to replicate, giving our franchise partners a store model that is both distinctive and operationally efficient. By refining both the experience and the operating model, we are building a platform that can support our ambition to grow to 100 locations globally by 2030.” The circa 30-strong business, which is also targeting having 50-plus stores by 2027, last month introduced a joint venture franchise opportunity. Aimed at first time franchisees, Iro Sushi will see potential partners able to access the capital required to open a store at favourable rates, and when the franchisee has the capital to take full ownership, Iro Sushi will sell its share to the franchisee at the original valuation.