ITS founders call themselves “recession kids”, who started their business in a property slump with no capital from a bank.

Five years later, Koh Thai is on its way to becoming a nationally known brand, having opened eight restaurants in five years.

The opening of the latest, in Ringwood, was the point of “critical mass”, according to chief executive Andy Lennox.

The business began with a single restaurant in Boscombe in 2009.

It was a partnership between Mr Lennox, Jay Hampton, now chief operating officer, and Nick Billingham, now chief development officer.

“We started with no money whatsoever. We just decided we wanted to do some informal dining and wanted to do Thai tapas, which is our signature USP (unique selling proposition),” said Mr Lennox.

“We ran out of money probably three times before we opened it."

The aim was to emphasise informality, with what Koh Thai calls a “complete dining experience” combining service, food and atmosphere.

Launching in a recession presented opportunities the partners would not otherwise have had – including a choice of restaurant premises at lower than normal rent.

“We were able to pick up some storming deals. We would probably have never been able to achieve those sites had there not been a recession,” he said.

“It was a massive risk to do Boscombe but we felt we had something special, some great Thai chefs, some great food. We had a great concept and we worked in the restaurant,” he said.

“Jay would be running the restaurant, I would be on front of house and Nick would be behind the bar. We did that for probably six months and then started to get employees.”

The partners knew what it was like to peel potatoes and clean toilets, he said.

The success of the business led to another near Bournemouth’s Triangle in 2011.

A third, in Southampton in 2012, was the first to be backed by a bank. But after a fourth opened in Bath, the bank decided not to extend its funding.

“We ended up going to an online funding platform called Thincats and started crowd-sourcing,” said Mr Lennox.

“The funding was up to £1.6m. We were one of the first groups to really embrace that as a company.”

Three more branches followed in 2014 – Bristol, Lilliput in Poole and Christchurch, with Ringwood added this year.

“The idea was to do five in five years. We’ve done eight in five years,” said Mr Lennox.

“We’ve gone from three of us working in the restaurant to just over 200 staff.

“The last five years have been amazing but the next five are going to be even better. The idea is to get to 23 sites,” he said.

“We always wanted to create a brand. The aim was to create a boutique group. We don’t call it a chain. It makes it seem too corporate.”

He said the success had been achieved without heavy discounting and internet offers.

“We pride ourselves on our word of mouth. It takes more time to build your client base but it’s a hell of a lot stronger,” he said.

“You can do lots of marketing and give out vouchers and do a lot of discounts but you don’t have a loyal client base.”

From the beginnings in Boscombe, Mr Lennox was keen for the business to be active in its community, and he was a member of the Boscombe Area Regeneration Group. He is still involved with several bodies including the town’s two Business Improvement Districts.

Each Koh Thai restaurant is given a budget to spend on charity and community projects.

Head office is in Wallisdown and Mr Lennox says Bournemouth will remain its base. “This is where it all started and this is where we believe we should keep our stronghold,” he said.

For the fourth year, it will run a beach lounge during the Bournemouth Air Festival.

All of the Koh Thai restaurants have won awards, some of them several, and the company was named Employer the Year for its category of the Hospitality Awards of 2013. It was nominated again this year.

Many staff began by waiting tables and have become managers.

Maheva Butchart came into the Boscombe restaurant looking for sponsorship five years ago, at the age of 16, and is now one of its longest-running general managers.

Sophie Cox started as a waitress in 2011 and is now director of operations.”You can start here as a barman and in six months’ time be training as assistant manager,” said Mr Lennox.

“The vast majority of our staff earn quite good money. We’re looking to take the leap to the Living Wage.

“We will be the first restaurant group in the UK to go to the Living Wage if we can do it. If we can do it, why shouldn’t we?”

Mr Lennox said the business now seemed ahead of its time. “Everything in the industry at the moment is tapas and street food. Everybody’s doing it,” he added.

“We’ve always classified ourselves as recession kids. We never knew having lots of finance, lots of money. It was always about running a tight ship and keeping our margins as good as we possibly can and running the business as if we don’t have any money.

“We’ve come out of the recession and that’s helping us more and more.”