Yum! Brands’ KFC to acquire 218 restaurants

KFC is moving to accelerate its growth in two important markets.

The quick-serve restaurant chain, a division of  Yum! Brands, has entered into an agreement to acquire 218 KFC restaurants from EG Group, the company’s largest KFC franchisee in the UK and Ireland. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The transaction represents a significant opportunity to accelerate KFC’s growth strategy in the large and growing UK and Ireland chicken market, with high average unit volumes and robust margins, the company said in a statement. 

KFC UK and Ireland has a strong track record of consistent growth that has continued this year, with system sales up 7% and same-store sales up 5% across its 1,040 restaurants. 

Since 2018, KFC has opened 200 new restaurants across the UK and Ireland. The chain has previously announced plans to open an additional 500 restaurants across the market by 2030.

When the deal is  completed, all of EG’s KFC UK and Ireland business —over half of which is made up of drive-thrus — and 7,800 team members will come under KFC UK and Ireland management.

“The KFC business is a powerhouse for Yum! globally and the UK and Ireland is one of our strongest markets,” said Sabir Sami, KFC division CEO. “We’re pleased to add these restaurants to our equity portfolio, in a market where we are well placed to drive strong growth while also making further digital and strategic progress.”

Zuber Issa and Mohsin Issa, CBE co-founders and co-CEOs of EG Group, said: “We are proud to have been a strategic partner of KFC in the UK and Ireland, playing an important role in helping the brand expand its footprint. Now is the right time to hand the baton to the KFC leadership team to continue to grow the brand in the UK.”

Yum! anticipates finalizing the transaction by the end of the first half of 2024. It will be funded from Yum!’s cash flows and is expected to have an immaterial impact on the company's 2024 financial results. 

Yum! Brands and its subsidiaries franchise or operate a system of over 57,000 restaurants in more than 155 countries and territories under the company’s banners of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and the Habit Burger Grill. 

There are more than 29,000 KFC restaurants in nearly 150 countries and territories around the world.