Food Innovators lodges preliminary document for Catalist IPO

RESTAURANT operator Food Innovators Holdings (FIH) has lodged a preliminary prospectus for a Catalist listing on the Singapore Exchange.

FIH, which has more than a decade of experience in the Japanese food and beverage (F&B) industry, now runs two business divisions – leasing and subleasing, and a food-retail business.

Its leasing and subleasing division leases restaurant premises from landlords and then subleases these to those seeking to open a restaurant or relocate their existing operations.

The group’s food-retail division sets up and runs restaurants specialising in traditional Japanese and Japanese-inspired European cuisines; it also provides F&B consulting and operations-management services.

As at Aug 19, the group had 214 subleased properties spanning more than 23,000 square metres in Japan. These assets maintained occupancy rates of above 99 per cent between the fiscal year ended Feb 28, 2022 and Feb 29, 2024, said the group.

FIH has 12 restaurants in Japan, 10 in Singapore and four in Malaysia. It also operates a bakery cafe and a central kitchen facility in Malaysia.

In Singapore, some of the brands under its portfolio include sushi bar Kadohachi, grilled-meat restaurant Niku Katsumata and Tendon Kohaku, which serves rice bowls.

FIH recorded S$1.4 million in net profit in FY2024, reversing from a loss of S$3.4 million in the preceding FY. Its FY2024 revenue was S$43.8 million, up 10.3 per cent.

The company had S$61.5 million in assets as at Feb 29, and S$59.1 million in liabilities.

Chief executive officer Kubota Yasuaki said Japan’s food service industry has been “recovering strongly” in the past two years following the Covid-19 pandemic.

He is positive about the growth prospects for Japanese food restaurants, given the rise in tourism and global affinity for Japanese culture, among other factors.

With the initial public offering (IPO), FIH plans to expand its food retail business by collaborating with Japanese restaurant operators.

It also plans to use the net proceeds to acquire rights to operate themed restaurants based on popular anime characters, and to introduce new Japanese food brands to the Singapore and Malaysia markets.

Yasuaki said: “With the IPO proceeds, the group will be able to rapidly scale up its food retail business to take advantage of the momentum in the recovery of the industry, both domestically and internationally.”

Incorporated in Singapore in 2019, the group is led by Yasuaki and executive chairman Furukawa Kazuteru.

Kazuteru is the sole owner of FIJ Investment, a company that was previously issued 3.1 million new FIH shares when FIH acquired all three overseas subsidiaries of Food Innovators Japan (FIJ) for a total consideration of S$3 million.

All shares in the share capital of FIJ were subsequently acquired from FIJ Investment by FIH for 1.4 billion yen, or about S$18.3 million.

Kazuteru was reported to hold a deemed interest of 51.6 million shares in FIH prior to the IPO placement. Yasuaki directly owns 6.8 million shares in FIH. 

FIH’s listing comes as another Catalist-listed restaurant operator, RE&S is set to be delisted from the Singapore Exchange.

In May, the F&B operator said it received a privatisation proposal from Euphoria Investments, a special-purpose vehicle managed by Southern Capital Group (SCG).

Last month, shareholders present at the group’s scheme meeting agreed to the proposed acquisition.

Shareholders who accept the offer, made by way of a scheme of arrangement, can either opt for a cash payout of S$0.36 per share, or a combination of S$0.33 apiece in cash and 0.083143 new share in the special-purpose vehicle.