Tim Hortons has more than 4,900 system wide restaurants located in Canada, the US, and around the world. Credit: mikecphoto / Shutterstock.

Private equity firm Cartesian Capital Group’s portfolio company Tim Hortons China (Tims China) has raised funds through a further round of financing, which was led by Sequoia Capital China and existing investor Tencent Holdings.

Eastern Bell Capital has also participated in the financing round.

Tims China was founded by Cartesian and Tim Hortons Restaurants International, a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International (RBI).

It opened its first coffee shop in February 2019.

The company has more than 150 stores across 10 cities in the country and a loyalty programme with almost three million members.

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The new funding round will help the company to accelerate its growth towards its initial target of more than 1,500 coffee shops across China.

Tims China is the second restaurant investment in China for Cartesian, which is also a major shareholder in Burger King China.

Burger King China has more than 1,300 restaurant locations.

Tims China chairman and Cartesian managing partner Peter Yu said: “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.”

RBI International president David Shear said: “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.”