Burger King acquires 74 franchise restaurants

Burger King UK (BKUK) has announced the indirect acquisition of all 74 Burger King restaurants, including 36 drive-thrus, from its second largest franchise partner, Karali Limited and Teresina Limited (the Karali Group). This marks BKUK’s “largest ever” franchise consolidation, and the announcement comes as the business has secured £110m of fixed-term financing to support its growth strategy of restaurant expansion and franchise acquisition. The newly-acquired portfolio includes 36 drive-thrus, nine in-line, 27 shopping centres and two leisure restaurants. BKUK plans to incorporate them into its major remodelling programme to deliver an “improved” customer experience and new visual identity, including pre-order digital kiosks and digital menu screens. The deal will increase the BKUK directly-owned portfolio to 266 restaurants, and the company will now have direct ownership of around half of its 533 strong UK store estate. Meanwhile, BKUK plans to expand its owned and sub-franchised restaurant portfolio from 533 to over 700 by 2026, with around 200 new openings targeted by 2026. Additionally, the business plans circa one restaurant opening planned per week until the end of 2022, as well as selected franchise acquisitions. Since the start of 2021, BKUK has added 70 owned restaurants to its estate comprising 391 new restaurant openings and the acquisition of 31 sub-franchised restaurants. Alasdair Murdoch, CEO at BKUK, said: “The acquisition of Karali – the largest consolidation BKUK has made – marks an important milestone for the business, bringing more restaurants under our ownership, enhancing value and driving operational efficiencies. “As one of the longest standing franchise partners, Karali’s dedicated team have ensured Burger King stores continue to best serve our customers while achieving impressive growth. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to the core BKUK team and delivering on the exciting growth plans for the business.” Salim Janmohamed, owner and managing director at Karali added: “Over the course of our long-standing partnership with the Burger King brand, Karali worked tirelessly over 15 years to build a substantial, balanced portfolio of Burger King franchise stores and achieve its success today. “This nation-wide, 74-restaurant portfolio is performing exceptionally well based on a resilient financial platform and supported by strong operational management, a first class team, and a growing customer base."

Burger King acquires 74 franchise restaurants

With a £110m of fixed-term financing, BKUK plans to expand its owned and sub-franchised restaurant portfolio from 533 to over 700 by 2026, with around 200 new openings targeted by 2026

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