Hall is best known as the founder and former chief executive of Pod, one of the UK’s early healthier fast-food concepts. He later co-founded Three Joes, which went on to acquire fellow pizza brand The Stable.
Wise was until recently a director at upmarket Hove wine shop and bar 9 Vines and, according to an investment deck circulated by celebrity gossip newsletter and website Popbitch, has also been involved in a number of other wine-related concepts including London wine bar chain Planet of the Grapes.
According to the deck, the pair have identified more than 50 potential sites for a national rollout of their new concept, The Wine Yard.
It appears they are targeting Brighton’s Kemptown area for the first site. A recently approved licensing application shows that newly created holding company Hall & Wise Limited has either acquired, or is in the process of acquiring, 120 St George’s Road, a prominent site in Kemptown Village that previously traded as Arcobaleno.
The investment deck references a pilot site that has already traded, although it is not clear where this is located or under what name it operates.
A separate business operating under the name The Wine Yard in the Surrey town of Farnham, established in 2021, is understood to be unconnected to the Brighton project.
The founders claim the pilot delivered three times revenue expectations, demonstrating strong demand despite what they describe as a distressed hospitality sector.
The strategy, according to the deck, is to convert well-located, fully fitted sites that have failed as part of larger, struggling groups.
The Kemptown property is described as a “particularly strong opportunity”, having reportedly been fitted out by the previous tenant at a cost of £600,000, allowing for a relatively low opening cost.
The site is forecast to generate more than £1m in turnover with EBITDA of more than 20%. It will comprise 120 covers plus garden and private dining space, alongside a bottle shop. Annual rent is listed as £38,000, which the founders position as a low occupancy cost relative to projected turnover.
The pre-money valuation is £750,000. The current fundraising target is £300,000, of which £225,000 has already been committed, according to the deck.
The final £75,000 is being offered under the SEIS scheme, with a minimum investment of £5,000. Investors sourced via Popbitch are being offered a “black card” providing 50% off food and wine for a year.
The founders state that, with successful execution, the concept has the potential to achieve an enterprise value in excess of £100m, with a target exit for investors within three to five years.