Mon 23rd Jul 2018 - Mission Mars receives £10m Business Growth Fund investment Mission Mars receives £10m Business Growth Fund investment: Mission Mars, the north west operator behind hospitality concepts including Albert’s Schloss and Rudy’s Neapolitan Pizza, has received £10m from Business Growth Fund (BGF) to continue with its ambitious growth plans. With combined annual sales of nearly £30m across its ten sites, Mission Mars is led by Roy Ellis and Neil Macleod who previously founded and built the Revolution bar chain. BGF is backing the team as it aims for further growth by opening additional sites across the UK. Mission Mars was launched in 2015 with a portfolio of already popular sites built up by Joel Wilkinson and Adelaide Winter, including Trof, Gorilla and The Deaf Institute. The company stated: “The business has appointed Matt Davies, former Tesco and Pets at Home chief executive, as non-executive chairman. Bringing with him a stellar track record, this high-calibre appointment will work with the experienced management team to support the roll-out of Mission Mars’ successful concepts. The company has plans to take Albert’s Schloss – the award-winning Bier Palace & Cook Haus which launched in Manchester in 2015 – to other major cities in the UK. The investment will also facilitate a considered roll-out of Rudy’s Neapolitan pizzerias across the UK, with an initial focus on the north of England.” The deal was led for BGF by Neil Inskip and Paul Dolyniuk in BGF’s Manchester office. Roy Ellis of Mission Mars said: “Our mission is to create world-class food, drink, entertainment and hospitality experiences through innovation, people and sustainability. The business has grown quickly to date and our venues are increasing in popularity and reputation across the north west. We were looking for an investor which shared our long-term vision and is geared up to support expansion plans across the UK while we retained control of the company. BGF’s unique approach made its team the obvious partner to unlock the potential of our business and help make it happen.” Neil Inskip at BGF added: “Mission Mars has an impressive management team with a proven track record of scaling hospitality brands. The concepts within the Mission Mars group are innovative, well-delivered and outperforming the market. The team has established a strong foundation to continue this roll-out across the UK and we look forward to supporting the next stage of growth.” The north west BGF team has invested nearly £70m since late 2017. This includes new investments such as digital mapping company Gaist and brake manufacturer, EBS as well as additional funding for portfolio companies High Access, NWC Group and Kids Planet. This year, BGF became the first and only investor to be honoured for Innovation in the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Addleshaw Goddard provided legal advice to BGF. Paul Land and Andy Kerr at TLP advised Mission Mars’ management with legal advice provided by DWF.