Ace investor Ashish Kacholia has picked up a 17.2% stake in homegrown burger chain Jumboking for an undisclosed amount, becoming its second-biggest shareholder. The investment was through a secondary market transaction after Triton Fund, which invested in the firm in 2018, exited.
Market executives said the transaction could be between Rs 70 crore and Rs 80 crore, valuing the quick service restaurant chain at Rs 400-500 crore. Jumboking posted Rs 110 crore in sales last fiscal through 170 stores in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune. It is India’s third-largest burger chain after McDonalds and Burger King.
“Globally, franchising has been proven to be the best format to scale. It is challenging to crack, but once you have done it, it unleashes exponential growth. Similarly, burgers are a western concept but Jumboking has the advantage of understanding the Indian palate better,” said Dheeraj Gupta, founder of Jumboking.
The company that started in 2001 by selling vada pav, a ubiquitous street food in Maharashtra, pivoted in 2017 when it repositioned to burgers with a stated ambition to have 1,000 stores by 2030.
Kacholia, renowned for his ability to identify multibagger stocks, holds shares worth Rs 3,000 crore in listed companies. He invests through his firm, Lucky Securities, and has stakes in over 60 mid-sized companies.
His largest investment is in Shaily Engineering, which is currently valued at Rs 240 crore, followed by PCBL at Rs 198 crore, Safari Industries at Rs 183 crore and Garware Hi-Tech Films at Rs 173 crore. He holds a 12.5% stake in Beta Drugs, representing his largest percentage holding in any listed company.
“Jumboking is all about top-class execution and exceptional customer centricity. I am excited to be on board India’s most promising QSR story,” Kacholia said.
The organised foodservice market size was estimated at $27.1 billion in 2023 and the chained category is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% between 2020 and 2026, on the back of increased penetration and growth from non-metro cities, according to Wazir Advisors.
“QSR remains the fastest-growing category in the organised segment and is expected to have a robust growth of 18% during 2023-26 as the Indian population continues to embrace urbanization and modern lifestyles. The format has a substantial potential for growth as QSR penetration remains relatively low as compared to developed economies,” said Pakhi Saxena, retail and consumer product goods head at Wazir Advisors.
Jumboking, an asset light company, is 100% franchised and said it has seen sales jump seven times since its repositioning in 2017, attributing to its entrepreneurial model of franchising and prioritizing their profitability over sales. The company said it aims to double its turnover over the next two years, consolidate further in Delhi and Hyderabad and enter the Bangalore market this year.
