Yahoo Finance US burger chain Five Guys plans further expansion in Europe
The upmarket burger chain Five Guys is in talks with its US parent to expand in Europe beyond the five countries it currently operates in.
Five Guys’ UK chief executive, John Eckbert, said the company had growth plans for the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal, where it already has sites, but saw scope for the chain to thrive in other European nations.
“We are in discussions with the US business to expand our territory,” Mr Eckbert said. “We think Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland and Italy would be logical places to go.”
The UK business is a joint venture between the original US company, which was founded in 1986 and counts President Obama as a fan, and the millionaire founder of Carphone Warehouse, Charles Dunstone.
Five Guys had 59 UK sites at the end of last year. Mr Eckbert said growth would continue in Britain: “We’re aiming for 20 new UK sites this year and think it’s conceivable to open that many for a few years,” he said. “We’ve got roughly 75 sites identified that we want to be in.”
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