Burger King targets whopper UK expansion
The fast food chain has appointed retail and leisure agent Lunson Mitchenall to help it roll out 30 sites a year until 2022.
It is targeting “high footfall areas" without a current Burger King presence, including transport hubs, retail parks, high streets and shopping centre.
The team is looking for sites between 1,6000 – 3,000 sq ft in South Wales, East Anglia and the South East and South West of England.
“It is a really interesting time for the fast food market in particular which, against the wider economic back drop, is enjoying strong growth thanks to a shift in perception of fast food and consumers responding to Burger King’s reinvigorated offering,” says Matt Maynard, director at Lunson Mitchenall.
Burger King was founded in Florida in 1954 and currently has over 500 UK restaurants.
The UK arm has been backed by private equity firm Bridgepoint, which also owns Azzuri Group, since 2017.
Alasdair Murdoch, the former head of Gourmet Burger Kitchen, became CEO of Burger King UK in 2018. At the time he told BigHospitality’s sister site MCA the fast food brand needed “some love”, and it has since begun trialling a cheap breakfast offer and new-look kiosk ordering.
