TOKYO -- Toridoll Holdings, operator of Japan's udon restaurant chain Marugame Seimen, will invest as soon as this month in Shoryu, a London-based ramen business, aiming to use its expertise to claim a piece of the growing market for the noodle dish in Britain.
Through the investment, Toridoll plans to increase Shoryu's ramen shops in the U.K. from the current eight to around 100 by 2023. Toridoll will spend around 1 billion yen ($8.54 million) to acquire nearly 40% of shares of Shoryu Holdings, the restaurant's operator. Shoryu's lighter-tasting ramen adapted for British consumers -- priced around 2,000 yen ($17) -- took off after launching in 2012, and helped spark the ramen boom in the U.K.
