Merchant Edge Supports TOÓM Deli’s Successful Market Entry and Launch in Madrid

Merchant Edge is pleased to announce the successful opening of TOÓM Deli in Madrid, a modern Lebanese fast-casual concept developed by the team behind Citrón Lebanese Cuisine.

The launch builds on Citrón’s established operating track record in Lisbon, where the founders developed a recognised Lebanese dining concept supported by a loyal customer base, strong market reception and a distinctive approach to food and hospitality.

TOÓM represents the next stage of that journey: a contemporary, scalable format designed to bring authentic Lebanese flavours to a broader urban audience while preserving the quality, generosity and cultural identity behind the original concept.

Located in Madrid’s Salamanca district, the new venue combines a focused menu, bold visual identity, open-kitchen experience and operating model designed around consistency, accessibility and future growth.

Members of the Merchant Edge team attended the launch and soft-opening activities in Madrid, joining the founders, management team, partners and guests as TOÓM welcomed its first customers.

The early reception has been highly encouraging and reflects the considerable work undertaken by the founders and operating team to move the business from an established concept in Portugal to a new market and an expanded commercial platform.

Merchant Edge’s Role

Merchant Edge supported TOÓM across several interconnected strategic and transaction workstreams.

Our involvement included:

• strategy development and business planning;
• market-entry assessment for Spain;
• market research and competitive-landscape analysis;
• commercial and financial modelling;
• investment positioning and preparation of investor materials;
• support throughout the capital-raising process;
• analysis of potential corporate and holding jurisdictions;
• coordination of legal, tax and transaction-advisory workstreams; and
• engagement with investors and strategic partners.

The objective was not simply to secure capital. It was to help the founders translate a successful operating track record in Portugal into a credible expansion strategy supported by a clear market proposition, appropriate corporate structure and executable business plan.

From an Established Concept to a Scalable Platform

Citrón’s experience in Portugal provided an important foundation for the development of TOÓM.

The existing business had already demonstrated demand for authentic, high-quality Lebanese cuisine in a European market. However, entering Spain and developing a more scalable fast-casual format required a separate strategic exercise.

Merchant Edge worked with the company to assess how the underlying strengths of the original concept could be adapted for a new market without losing the authenticity and customer experience that had driven its initial success.

This included evaluating local demand, customer profiles, competitive positioning, pricing, location dynamics, operating requirements and the broader commercial environment.

The resulting proposition combined a proven culinary foundation with a format designed for replication across multiple locations and markets.

Structuring the Market Entry

International expansion involves more than selecting a location and launching a product.

It requires a coordinated assessment of the operating market, investment structure, legal environment, tax considerations, ownership framework and future capital requirements.

As part of the engagement, Merchant Edge helped assess the most appropriate structure for the company’s international growth plans, including the relative advantages of potential jurisdictions and the implications for investment, governance and future expansion.

We also helped coordinate relevant legal and tax-advisory workstreams to ensure that the proposed structure was aligned with the company’s operating plans and longer-term objectives.

This multidisciplinary approach allowed the founders to consider the Madrid launch not only as a new restaurant opening, but as the first stage of a broader international growth platform.

Applying Institutional Rigour to Consumer and Hospitality

The TOÓM engagement provided Merchant Edge with the opportunity to apply its established capital-advisory methodology to the food and beverage sector.

Although hospitality businesses differ from infrastructure, financial services and other industries in which we frequently operate, the foundations of a credible investment proposition remain largely consistent.

A compelling concept must be supported by:

• a clearly defined market opportunity;
• a differentiated and defensible proposition;
• realistic commercial and financial assumptions;
• a capable and aligned management team;
• an appropriate legal and capital structure;
• disciplined deployment of funds; and
• a credible path toward sustainable growth.

Merchant Edge brought the same analytical discipline, commercial scrutiny and execution focus to TOÓM that we apply to more traditional corporate-finance and capital-advisory assignments.

The engagement demonstrates that institutional rigour is not determined by sector or transaction size. It is a methodology that can be applied wherever founders and investors are seeking to turn a strong concept into a structured, financeable and scalable business.

The Next Stage of Growth

The Madrid opening is intended to serve as the foundation for TOÓM’s next phase of development.

The company is evaluating further locations in Spain, followed by a broader European rollout. Its longer-term strategy also contemplates the introduction of a franchising model and selective expansion into additional international markets, including Latin America and the United States.

Each stage will require careful market selection, operating discipline and an expansion model capable of preserving the brand’s quality and identity as the platform grows.

Merchant Edge is proud to have supported the founders and management team through the capital raise, market-entry process and successful launch in Madrid.

We congratulate the entire TOÓM team and its partners on reaching this important milestone and look forward to supporting the business as it develops its next phase of international expansion.

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