EG Group acquires 52 more KFC restaurants

EG GROUP has acquired 52 Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants in the UK from Amsric Group for an undisclosed amount, as the Blackburn-based conglomerate continued its inorganic expansion.

Spread across southern and south-western regions, the acquired network comprises more than 1,600 employees and a mix of drive-through and traditional restaurant formats, EG Group said in a statement on Monday (27).

With the buy-out, the group, co-founded by the entrepreneur Issa brothers Mohsin and Zuber, will operate a chain of 220 KFC restaurants in the UK and elsewhere in the continent, as the deal establishes its position as the largest franchisee for the American brand in Western Europe.

The deal comes months after the siblings completed the acquisition of the Asda supermarket chain from Walmart for £6.8 billion.

“EG already benefits from broad experience in investing in foodservice development and operations... The Group now operates more than 1,700 foodservice concessions”, the statement said.

The transaction follows EG Group’s acquisition of 146 KFC restaurants in the UK and Ireland from the Herbert Group in March 2020.

Last year’s acquisition also comprised a Pizza Hut store, as well as a development pipeline and a small number of non-trading sites.

“Acquiring the Amsric portfolio further strengthens our customer proposition and is highly complementary to our existing operations, and our long-term growth plans for our foodservice business”, the brothers said in the statement.

“The KFC brand has continued to grow in recent years due to its focus on changing customer needs and brand positioning. Even during the pandemic, KFC moved quickly to assess and adapt in order to embrace the rapidly evolving environment. We have seen a marked upward trend in the performance of our existing KFC network and this has given us the confidence to consider and invest in more assets”, they said.

“The network we have acquired is a strong portfolio of assets and we are looking forward to working with the Amsric management team and KFC to ensure a smooth transition for the teams and an effectively managed transfer of operations and assets.”

Amsric managing director Ragin Patel said, “our first priority is to make sure our team members are well supported through the transition and ensure there is minimal disruption to our guests.”