Wreckfish has proved a hit with diners in Liverpool city centre and now Mr Usher is aiming to raise £50,000 in just 24 hours for his fifth restaurant – Pinion – in Prescot. Tony McDonough reports

Last year leading chef and entrepreneur Gary Usher launched his Liverpool city centre Wreckfish restaurant thanks to a record £200,000 crowdfunding drive – now he wants to do it again.

Wreckfish has proved a hit with Liverpool diners and now Mr Usher is aiming to raise £50,000 in just 24 hours for his fifth restaurant – Pinion – in Prescot. He and his team will launch the Kickstarter campaign at 7pm on May 29.

Similar to other outlets in his Elite Bistro’s group, Pinion will serve freshly baked bread and, bistro dishes, such as a beef braise with truffle and parmesan chips and a classic tart for dessert.

Mr Usher said: “Prescot has an incredible sense of community with some amazing people who are so proud of where they come from.

“It’s been through some hard times but with plans to regenerate the area, myself and the team are hoping to bring a really great little bistro to Prescot and be part of something bigger than just a business.

“Why 24 hours? It seems crazy, but because the building is completely empty, we really need to get going so it’s open for the summer.”

His Kickstarter campaign to raise the £50,000 in 1,444 minutes will differ from the Wreckfish push in that it will offer monetary pledges instead of meal vouchers.

“I think there should be complete transparency in crowdfunding,” added Mr Usher. It means that your 50 quid pledge, will be exactly 50 quid in the restaurant.

“We’re also making sure everyone gets their vouchers in less than a week, just like any normal voucher purchase.”

In May 2017, Mr Usher broke crowdfunding records by raising more than £200,000 for Wreckfish.  This is the most money ever raised for a restaurant crowdfunding campaign in the UK, supported by 1,522 backers.