THE DUO BRINGING AN AUTHENTIC TASTE OF SOUTH AMERICA

Bored of the themed restaurants posing as South American gaucho, Tomas Maunier and Robert Melman decided to give Britain a taste of the real Rio and Sao Paulo.

“No samba dancers, but the best cuts of meat and great wines,” says Maunier. They opened their first Fazenda in Leeds back in 2010. “People said we were crazy when we launched outside London,” says Maunier. “But we were doing something unique and within a few months, it was bustling.”

They opened their second restaurant three years later in Liverpool, with its Manchester Spinningfields site following in 2014. The brand currently boasts a growth rate of 16pc.

But, that is set to skyrocket in 2018. “We are opening three Fazendas next year, starting with Edinburgh,” says Maunier. Alongside the Fazenda concept, the pair has also created a pared down version, called Picanha, which has launched in Chester. The secret to Fazenda’s success is that it has been designed for return custom, claims Maunier.

“70pc of our business is repeat clientele.”

The only potential bump in the road is the possible ban on European workers. Maunier says: “We rely on both European and non-European labour, but we’re not going to let anything affect our long-term growth plans.” LIKE many Northern cities, Manchester has changed dramatically over the past 50 years, moving away from its traditional industrial roots to more of a service-based economy.

We love investing in a diversified range of businesses, and Manchester offers just that. For example, right now, creative media businesses are thriving here, partly because of the relocation of the BBC to Media City. There are also lots of technology and software businesses here because of the strong innovation and university links.

Over the past 12 months alone we’ve backed five new management teams in the region, investing £90m in the North West. One of those investments is Hill Biscuits, where we backed a management buyout earlier this year and helped the 150-year-old business to expand its production capabilities.

We pride ourselves on helping fast-growth businesses to reach their goals more quickly. Be this through adding value through our in-house consultancy team, or supporting growth through strategies such as buy-and-build.

We are a like-minded partner than can give entrepreneurs the confidence to invest in growth.