YouMeSushi

About YouMeSushi

Founded in 2008, London-based restaurant and takeaway concept YouMeSushi opened its first store in London’s Marylebone and now has 26 sites, including the company’s first franchise store, which opened in Stratford in 2021. Its debut regional site opened in Reading in the summer of 2022. In September 2022, YouMeSushi announced plans to grow its then 16-strong estate three-fold through a franchise model.

“Franchising is going to be a big part of the growth,” said franchise director Martin Hawthorn. “It makes sense to keep corporate stores within reach of each other in London, and then if we want to expand out of that, then the quickest route is through good franchisees.”

In December 2024, YouMeSushi head of franchising Tim Circus told Propel that sushi is now mainstream rather than niche and attracting younger customers. He added that there is “massive opportunity” for the brand in travel hubs and that he “100% believes” sushi would work in drive-thrus.

In January 2026, the company said it is aiming to grow to a 50-strong estate within 18 months - and plans to double that number over the following few years. In April 2026, the then 30-strong brand said it plans to open 12 more sites in 2026, with seven currently in legals.

Why franchise with YouMeSushi

• ✓You Me Sushi is seeking franchisees from food and hospitality and business management backgrounds. Multi site operators are especially sought, as it looks to grow rapidly in the UK sushi market. The franchise fee is £15,000. You Me Sushi will help franchisees find and acquire the right premises, design and fit it out, guide in choosing the best staff, help market locally (in addition to national marketing overseen at head office) and provide support every step of the way.
• ✓Support includes initial induction and training programme, operation manual, customer service training, staff recruitment, a specialised opening team and regular in-site visits. A centralised marketing team will help with branded marketing collateral, marketing campaigns and opening marketing plans.
• ✓Franchise partners will require a minimum of £20,000 to be spent in year one to get the business off to a strong start and build the brand in its local area. Franchisees will need around £5,000 start up stock as well as ongoing working capital required to cover operational and business costs in the first 12 months. Management service fees are 5% and marketing service fees 2%.
• ✓The company is building relationships with major franchise banks such as HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and NatWest who may be able to lend 50-70% of the total investment required (subject to individual application). This means franchisees may only require 30-50% of the total investment in the form of liquid capital but will be required to present a strong personal business plan.
• ✓The company says You Me Sushi franchisees will enjoy circa 75% gross profits achievable with low setup costs.

Investment breakdown