Yahoo Finance Burger King builds up UK appetite with 200 new restaurants by 2026
Burger King has set its sights on expanding in the UK, eyeing up another 200 restaurant openings over the next five years.
The fast food chain said its continued expansion strategy helped boost revenues last year, as well as sales increasing from the easing of pandemic restrictions, with more people dining out once again.
It revealed total revenues climbed by 68% to £211.7m ($269.5m) compared to a year ago, while like-for-like sales rose by 46%.
Burger King UK added that it also benefited from the addition of 48 new owned restaurants last year. This included 19 openings as well as the acquisition of 29 sites from franchisees, including its flagship Leicester Square location in London.
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The company now plans to open 200 more sites by 2026, boasting “good visibility” regarding a pipeline of potential locations.
It comes as Burger King swung to a £33.4m operating profit for the year, compared with a £7.5m loss in 2020, when it suffered from COVID-19 lockdowns.
“Burger King UK delivered a strong performance in 2021, proactively managing COVID-19 headwinds through investment in digital sales, including home delivery, and continued restaurant expansion with a focus on Drive Thru,” Alasdair Murdoch, chief executive, said.
“Both delivery and Drive Thru sales were strong throughout 2021 and will remain key areas of focus as we execute on our growth strategy."
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He added: “We have a strong development pipeline to further grow our UK footprint, and we are very well positioned to take advantage of the clear market opportunities ahead of us.
“I would like to thank all of our employees for their ongoing dedication and hard work, without which our ongoing growth would not be possible.”
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