Mon 11th Jun 2018 - Newcastle-based The Naked Deli receives £2.5m investment for UK expansion Newcastle-based The Naked Deli receives £2.5m investment for UK expansion: Newcastle-based The Naked Deli has received £2.5m of growth capital from independent infrastructure, private equity and investment manager Foresight Group. The Naked Deli offers a “health-conscious and clean-eating dining experience with a range of gluten and dairy-free, vegan and paleo dishes”. As part of the investment, John Upton has joined The Naked Deli as chairman. Upton is former managing director of healthy fast food brand Leon and a member of the senior team at McDonald’s UK. He is also currently chairman of buttermilk-fried chicken specialist Mother Clucker. The first Naked Deli opened in Heaton in 2014 and reached capacity in the first week, leading to a second site opening in Gosforth. The Naked Deli offers healthy grab-and-go and dine-in options across breakfast, lunch and dinner. The company will use the investment from Foresight to bolster systems and infrastructure and open additional sites across the UK. The Naked Deli deal is the ninth for Foresight’s private equity team this year. The group’s investment manager John Cordrey said: “The Naked Deli represents an opportunity to back a strong brand with a high-quality offering, operating in the growing, healthy eating sector. Foresight will be supporting the roll-out of additional sites across the UK. We look forward to working with the management team and pursuing the opportunities that exist for the company.” The Naked Deli chief executive Chris Jones added: “We are excited to be working closely with Foresight, which has been extremely supportive of our vision to bring healthy and nutritious food to the wider market. We have had an amazing journey so far in growing our brand organically throughout the north east and look forward to our next stage of growth.”