Mikos Gyros was born from an idea that sparked in Melbourne’s vibrant Greek food scene, and has since grown into one of the UK’s fastest-rising Greek food brands. Founder Hugo Ushida was inspired during a working holiday in Australia, where he discovered a fresh, healthier take on gyros – far removed from the late-night kebabs he was used to back home in England.
At just 24, Hugo returned to the UK with a vision to elevate Greek street food. Building on the success of a food truck business he had previously developed and sold, he launched the first Mikos Gyros restaurant in Clapham in 2017. A second location followed soon after in Brixton, and as demand soared – particularly in the delivery market – the brand became the busiest restaurant on Deliveroo in 2020, as well being voted the “Best meal under £10” at the Deliveroo awards in 2021.
As the hospitality industry faced seismic challenges during the pandemic, Hugo spotted an opportunity to expand the brand beyond restaurants. By 2023, Mikos Gyros had diversified into retail, launching a premium range of Greek grocery products that quickly found a strong foothold among customers looking for high-quality ‘fakeaway’ meals at home, including mini pitas, their own gyros sauce and souvlaki seasoning.
This move taps into a £3bn UK market for world foods retail, while the restaurant business sits within a £2.8bn takeaway kebab market—both of which offer significant headroom for growth. Gyros has surpassed fajitas on Google Trends every summer for the last three years, underlining a strong consumer shift. Therefore, Mikos Gyros is firmly positioning itself for the mainstream—alongside established household names.
With product lines expanding and demand accelerating, Mikos Gyros turned to Optimum Finance to help fuel the next stage of its growth.
Diversifying into grocery with a cashflow boost
Scaling quickly from two to eight restaurant sites, then expanding into the ambient grocery sector, presented both an opportunity and increased financial pressure. Meeting upfront manufacturing costs, investing in machinery, and supplying national retailers all demanded immediate capital, something Hugo says wouldn’t have been possible without invoice finance.
“As opposed to waiting for a big chunk of cash in 30-60 days’ time, we get paid as soon as we invoice our customers,” explains Hugo. “That allows us to keep on top of payments and actually grow faster. It’s allowed us to invest in things like our tray seeding machine, which is key for packaging our pork souvlaki.”
Invoice Finance is a method of cashflow funding that uses receivables (invoices) as the principal asset against which money can be raised. Optimum Finance accelerates the payment of an invoice, unlocking capital that can be reinvested into the business, giving Hugo and Mikos Gyros the certainty and comfort he needs to invest and grow.
The company also recently – at the end of April 2025 – launched on Amazon and continues to grow direct-to-consumer sales via its website. According to Hugo, invoice financing has been instrumental in keeping up with this fast-moving, multi-channel growth.
“We’re trying to keep up with demand,” he says. “Invoice finance gives us the breathing space and autonomy we need to scale without looking at equity financing. And, that’s massive for a company like ours!”
An appetite for more
The vision for Mikos Gyros is bold: to eventually match and overtake major food brands in the UK grocery market. With Hugo laser-focused on customer-driven product development.
“My strategy has always been simple: make something my family and friends would want,” he says.
“If you use good, local ingredients, not mass-produced, you can really taste the difference. That’s how you build a loyal customer base.”
Looking ahead, Mikos Gyros plans to scale further by securing listings with five major UK retailers. From there, the company has its sights set on international growth—targeting the EU, US, and ANZ markets as the next frontier for expansion.
Financing growth, not just operations
As Mikos Gyros continues to grow, Hugo credits the relationship with Optimum Finance for providing more than just a funding solution.
“The team is friendly and really easy to get hold of,” he says. “Time is a valuable resource, and invoice financing gives us more of it. We can focus on what really matters, namely growing the business.”
Whether it’s launching new products, paying suppliers up front, or navigating supply chain challenges, Invoice Finance from Optimum has provided the flexibility and support Mikos Gyros needed to transition from street food start-up to supermarket staple. And they’ll be with him as he continues to grow his successful business.