Yo! Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe to sell stake in the business

The founder of the Yo! Sushi restaurant chain today said he is to sell his remaining 22% stake in the business to concentrate on his new hotel and spa ventures.

Simon Woodroffe, a former rock stage designer and star of the BBC Dragons' Den television series, launched the business in 1997 after taking the idea from Japanese sushi bars where the dishes glide by on a conveyor belt.

The entrepreneur sold a controlling stake in the business to venture capitalist Primary Capital and management for £10m in August 2003.

The firm has since invested £3.5m to fund the group's expansion but it is understood they have no plans to acquire the outstanding stake.

Yo! Sushi, which aims to have 100 restaurants worldwide by 2010 and is estimated to be worth £50m, has received several approaches from financial and trade buyers.

Mr Woodroffe is to concentrate on Yotels, which will open inside Heathrow's Terminal 4 and Gatwick's South Terminal later this year.

The concept is inspired by Japanese capsule hotels - cheap, mini hotel rooms located at train stations specifically for the Japanese businessman crossed with the luxury of British Airways First Class cabins.

Industry experts think Yotels' rooms, which promise to be stylish and comfortable while costing just £40 a room for the night, could revolutionise the hotel business.

Cabins will be bookable in blocks of four hours enabling delayed and transfer passengers to freshen up before their journey.

Mr Woodroffe said his vision was "retail concepts that are luxurious but at super prices".

This requires a "quantum leap in thinking", he said. In the case of Yotels, costs will be kept low as the cabin rooms will have windows opening into the corridors instead of outwards.

In addition, Mr Woodroffe is negotiating with Battersea Power station on the possibility that it could be the site for his first Yo! Zone spa.

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By Karen Attwood

Source: PA City Staff

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