NEW YORK, U.S. – Cartesian Capital Group, LLC (“Cartesian”) announced today that its portfolio company Tim Hortons China (“Tims China”) has secured a further round of financing, led by Sequoia Capital China and existing investor Tencent Holdings Limited (“Tencent”), and with participation from Eastern Bell Capital (“Eastern Bell”).
Founded by Cartesian and Tim Hortons Restaurants International, a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International (“RBI”), Tims China opened its first coffee shop in February 2019. Since then, the company has grown dramatically, with more than 150 shops across 10 cities in China, and a loyalty program with nearly 3 million members. This new round, coinciding with the second anniversary of Tims China’s grand opening, will help accelerate the company’s growth toward its initial target of more than 1,500 coffee shops throughout China in the coming years.
Tims China is Cartesian’s second restaurant investment in China. Cartesian is also a major shareholder in Burger King China, which has grown from 56 to over 1,300 restaurant locations.
Peter Yu, Managing Partner of Cartesian and Chairman of Tims China, noted, “The team at Tims China, led by Yongchen Lu, has built a tremendous and resilient business, as demonstrated by our rapid growth, loyal customer base, and nimble adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to providing more and more guests with our high-quality products and services, and we are privileged and fortunate to have Sequoia Capital China and Eastern Bell join Tencent and RBI as our partners to accelerate our growth. We are particularly pleased that Tencent has elected to increase its stake, underscoring its commitment to our collaboration.”
David Shear, President International at RBI, commented, “We are excited to continue the Tim Hortons China expansion. Sequoia Capital China’s participation builds on our strong partnership with Cartesian and Tencent and reinforces our ambition for one of RBI’s fastest growing and important markets globally. Our loyal guests throughout China rely on Tim Hortons for a world-class experience and today’s announcement will fast-track our capacity to strengthen this base.”
