Doner Shack, which was by the team behind the Berlin-inspired restaurant Döner Haus back in 2019 and currently operates three sites in the UK, will move its base to Miami, where it says confidence in emerging brands is much higher.
By contrast, it says the UK hospitality industry has been ‘seeing setbacks’ since the pandemic, which have been compounded by the Government’s plans to increase National Insurance contributions for employers and cut business rates relief, as announced in the Autumn Budget.
“There’s a lot of confidence in the US – it’s the most established franchise market in the world, particularly for the QSR sector,” says Laura Bruce, co-founder of Doner Shack.
“One of the main reasons we chose the US, and ultimately Miami, is the strength of its business environment.
“Miami provides a solid foundation for growth, with access to a broad customer base, an established franchising network, and excellent opportunities to scale our operations.
“We’re excited to operate in an environment that offers strong opportunities for growth and success, allowing our business to thrive, as opposed to dealing with constant setbacks we’ve seen in the UK since March 2020.”
Bruce and fellow co-founder Sanj Sanghera say that rising costs combined with the multiple tax rises announced in the Budget will make it ‘much harder’ for hospitality businesses in the UK to expand their network.
“In Europe, most hospitality businesses benefit from a VAT sales tax of 10% or less, while in the UK, we face a rate of 20%,” says Sanghera.
“Combined with rising costs during the inflationary period of 2023, this has made operations increasingly challenging. Additional pressures, such as higher employer National Insurance contributions and the end of pandemic-level business rates relief doesn’t build great confidence and has further compounded the strain.
“By contrast, the US offers a much more supportive environment for businesses, and we’re already feeling more optimistic about the opportunities here,”
Doner Shack is set to open its first site in the US next year.
