Bringing panache to lunchtime
THE eureka moment for a new business idea can strike at any time. For Mark Lilley it was while he was eating fresh sushi with his wife in downtown Sydney in the middle of a round-the-world trip in 2002. The result was a ticket home and opening Abokado, a cross between a sushi bar and a European sandwich shop, in Drury Lane in 2004.
“For a week in Sydney we ate these sushi rolls that had western fillings. You just couldn’t find anything like that in London,” says Lilley. Abokado’s speciality is the Shwrap – a western filling in a hand-held rice roll. The shops are an abundance of health: fridges are stocked full of salads, edamame beans, boxes of fresh sushi and, of course, Shwraps.
Before embarking on Abokado, Lilley worked in the corporate brokerage division of what was Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Abokado’s emphasis on healthy eating was part of a change in lifestyle for Lilley: “I worked 14-18 hour days in the City, between eating badly and having no time to go to the gym I found myself getting a little weighty.” This typical predicament has helped Abokado ride the wave of greater health consciousness over the last decade.
Setting up any business is hard, but a takeaway lunch shop is notoriously tough due to paper-thin profit margins. Lilley started his first branch of Abokado (he now has six) with £10,000 of his own money: “I would get the first tube at 4.30am and then stay in the shop until four or five, before going home and doing the books.”
A lack of experience in the food business helped to cushion the blow when it only made £100 on its first day: “I didn’t know if that was good or bad, really. But I did know that we would never break even.” There are now six branches of Abokado and it employs 60 people. The latest branch recently opened in Euston station.
Shops three, four and five were opened with the help of two angel investors. Earlier this year, Abokado’s business plan stepped up a gear when it received private equity funding from Kings Park Capital for another 20 branches of Abokado across London.
And what about the relationship with his new backers? “They are fairly hands off. They eat in the shops, so they know what we are doing and are forthcoming about any good or bad experiences they had.”
This is a pivotal year for Abokado. Annual turnover is £2.5-£3m across all branches and net profits are expected to be £0.5m this year.
Lilley’s advice to fellow entrepreneurs is to go for it: “The worst that can happen is that you fail, but persistence is key, we could have packed up, but we kept going.”
CV | MARK LILLEY
Age : 37
Lives : Twickenham, with his wife and three young children.
Drives : Honda 4×4
Book you are reading : “Let My People Go Surfing, by Yvon Chouinard. It was written by the founder of clothing company Patagonia and struck a chord with me. I like people to work hard, but I encourage them to have a life outside of work too. I certainly do.”
Places you like to eat: “I think Wahaca is fantastic and it’s so innovative. People are moving toward a more tapas style of eating, and Wahaca has outstanding freshness.”
www.abokado.com