Japanese restaurant operator Food Innovators Holdings plans to raise $3.1m with Catalist listing

SINGAPORE – Japanese restaurant operator Food Innovators Holdings plans to raise $3.1 million through listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) Catalist board.

The proceeds of the initial public offering (IPO) will go towards introducing new Japanese brands and concepts in Singapore and Malaysia and buying the rights to operate more themed restaurants in Japan and overseas, it noted on Oct 9.

The company also hopes to ride the growing wave of popularity of Japanese culture and food in Singapore and Malaysia, said chief executive Kubota Yasuaki, through an interpreter.

Mr Yasuaki told The Straits Times: “We think that Singapore is the central hub of the Asian economy. Our plan is to operate food and beverage restaurants in Japan and also outside Japan, mainly in Asia. Singapore is a multicultural country, so we think that Singapore is a good place to be listed.”

He added that being listed here will help the company to be more well known in Asia and increase its credibility in Japan, enabling it to raise debt financing from Japanese banks. The plan is to eventually list on the SGX mainboard in several years’ time, he said.

Food Innovators Holdings is offering 14 million shares – 13 million placement shares and one million for public subscription at 22 cents apiece. If all shares are fully subscribed, the group will have a market capitalisation of $24.9 million upon listing.

The company runs 10 outlets in Singapore such as tempura rice bowl restaurant Tendon Kohaku, unagi eatery Man Man, Japanese skewers bar Yatagarasu, Hokkaido barbecue joint The Hitsuji Club and beef grill The Ushi Club. These are collaborations with local Japanese restaurant operators.

It also operates four restaurants in Malaysia, a bakery cafe and a central kitchen facility.

It has 12 restaurants in Japan, including a Moomin-themed character eatery in Karuizawa, as well as a restaurant leasing and subleasing business.

The firm noted that it holds the Moomin brand licence in Japan and is looking to buy operating rights of other characters.

“Driven by the widespread popularity of anime culture in Japan, demand for anime-themed restaurants has also been on the rise,” it said in a statement.

“Looking to replicate the success (of Moomin), part of the gross proceeds will be utilised to acquire operating rights to more themed restaurants of popular anime and other characters.”

Mr Yasuaki added: “With decades of deep expertise in Japan’s food service industry, (we are) poised to enter an exciting new phase of growth.

“Our extensive experience has given us a unique understanding of market dynamics, allowing us to strategically leverage favourable trends and scale our Japanese food restaurant network both domestically and internationally.”

The group began in Japan in 2011, but was incorporated in Singapore only in 2019.

Applications for shares close at noon on Oct 14 with the stock expected to begin trading at 9am on Oct 16.