Smacks pursues dual funding to speed UK expansion
Rap duo Krept and Konan back the round and join as creative directors.
Smacks Hamburgers Ltd. has launched a £200,000 crowdfunding round alongside a planned £3m equity raise to secure near-term capital and speed expansion beyond what internal cash flow can support.
“At first, I wasn’t too keen on it,” founder Kaysor Ali told QSR Media. “They said they could execute it a little more quickly. So we took the decision to do a crowdfund, a small raise for a few hundred thousand pounds and run it parallel with the £3m.”
The business reached a funding constraint after expanding to 14 restaurants, 13 of which operate under franchise agreements, as growth began to outpace available cash flow.
The company began seeking external capital last year and held talks with several venture capital firms, but progress remained slow until late in the year when Republic Core LLC, an online investment platform, approached the group about a crowdfunding campaign.
Ali said the crowdfunding process could take about eight weeks from announcement to closure. Pre-registration has drawn about 1,000 prospective investors.
Early backers include Casyo Johnson and Karl Wilson, known as the UK rap duo Krept and Konan, who have made an undisclosed investment and will join as creative directors.
Founded in 2021, Smacks began as a 500 sq ft takeaway outlet in south London and has since built a menu centred on smash burgers and fried or hot chicken. The company now operates in two of the most competitive segments of the UK quick-service restaurant market.
Competition remains intense as US chains dominate consumer traffic. American operators accounted for 44% of fast-food visits in 2025, with burger and pizza chains generating the vast majority of footfall, according to Meaningful Vision Ltd.
Cost pressures across the sector have also pushed menu prices higher, with UK fast-food prices rising 8.2% in February.
“When a US brand enters the UK, typically they have all this hype,” Ali said via Zoom. “They do have the initial following, but whether they last or not is a different story.”
Ali said Smacks has focused on protecting margins through supply chain efficiencies and operational savings rather than passing costs to customers, including using technology to streamline staffing.
“We try to recover and squeeze margins on the supply chain to give us more of a buffer,” Ali said. “The last thing that we typically do is pass on the price hikes to the customers.”
Ali said long-term success in the UK market depends on cultural relevance as much as product. He pointed to the UK operator of Wingstop as an example of a brand that has connected with local audiences and built momentum through music and youth culture, culminating in a £400m exit for its owners.
The company plans to reach about 100 sites by 2029 or 2030 through a mix of company-owned and franchise locations.
Ali said an eventual exit remains under consideration, including a public listing, merger or acquisition. Proceeds from the £3m raise will be used to invest in staff and back-of-house operations.
