Posted:24-February-2026
IRO SUSHI EVOLVES FRANCHISEE PROGRAMME TO CREATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
IRO Sushi, one of the fastest growing sushi brands in the UK, has partnered with a leading high street bank to finance joint-venture franchised stores as it looks to accelerate its UK expansion strategy.
Founded in 2014 by trained sushi chef Chhong Sherpa, IRO Sushi serves fresh, made-to-order, restaurant quality sushi and Japanese-inspired dishes at affordable prices. Across its 30+ quick-service restaurants across the UK, the brand serves more than 1.1m customers.
Reflecting the entrepreneurial journey of its founder and CEO, IRO Sushi is committed to creating more opportunities for ambitious individuals from across the hospitality industry to move into business ownership. Through its new partnership with a leading high street bank], chefs and other hospitality executives will be able to access finance for the capital required to open a joint venture with IRO Sushi at highly favourable rates.
Through it joint venture programme, which is primarily designed for those investing in franchising for the first time, franchisees also receive hands-on operational support and a dedicated training scheme to equip them with all the skills that they need to scale effectively. When the franchisee has the capital to take full ownership, IRO Sushi will sell its share to the franchisee at the original valuation – not current market rate – to support future growth.
Over recent years, IRO Sushi has tested this approach outside of a formalised offer. One of its leading franchisees, Sultan Thakur, opened his first joint venture location in Purley in 2023 and has since scaled to operate five IRO Sushi locations across the UK. Today, Sultan sits on IRO Sushi’s Operational Board as Operations Director, helping shape the next phase of franchisee expansion in partnership with the broader team.
As IRO Sushi expands, the Group believes its evolved franchisee recruitment programme will be critical for driving new enquiries and supporting its ambitious pipeline. By 2030, IRO Sushi is aiming to scale up to 100 sites, as consumer demand grows for high-quality Japanese cuisine.
Chhong Sherpa, Founder & CEO of IRO Sushi, said: “A little over a decade ago, I was in a sushi kitchen, knowing that I wanted to move beyond the kitchen and into business ownership but without the skills or means to do so. I decided to take a risk, putting all of my available capital into our first store and have since been able to scale the brand. But, for many in the kitchen – particularly within today’s business landscape – the barriers in place of entrepreneurship are often too significant to overcome.
“At IRO Sushi, we want to change that. We want to be the home of the next generation of skilled and ambitious chefs and hospitality executives who, like us, are passionate about serving high-quality, Japanese food across the UK. Chefs often have all of the right traits: committed, dedicated, perfectionists who are passionate about creating fantastic experiences. Now, with our evolved franchisee programme, we want to help them channel their skills to scale franchised businesses of their own and be part of the UK’s sushi revolution.”
Interested and want to know more about IRO Sushi?
The IRO Sushi profile outlines all aspects of their franchise opportunity and allows you to contact them for further information or to ask a question.
