KFC to buy 200 restaurants from franchisee EG Group

The sites employ around 7,800 people, the company said.

EG Group runs 218 KFC sites across the UK and Ireland (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Archive)

KFC has said that it will buy more than 200 outlets owned by a franchisee and sister company of supermarket Asda.

The fast food chain said that it would take over the sites in the UK and Ireland, which employ around 7,800 people.

Around half of the 218 sites are drive-through locations, said KFC, which is owned by Yum! Brands, the company behind Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

They had previously been owned by EG Group, a Blackburn-based company owned by the same brothers who bought Asda in early 2021.

“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 chief executive.

“Over the past five years, we’ve secured our leadership position within the UK and Ireland chicken market, opening 200 new restaurants, and we’re now close to being a £2 billion business in the UK, thanks to our extremely talented local management team.

“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.”

EG Group said that the sale, expected to complete by next summer, will help it pay off some of its loans.

EG also runs franchise sites for Starbucks, Greggs and Subway, among others.

EG co-founders Zuber Issa and Mohsin Issa 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.

“This is the latest transaction in our significant deleveraging this year – to put in place a sustainable capital structure.”