O'Briens is to build a chain of over 500 sandwich bars in the UK and expects to reach a total of 1000 outlets worldwide by 2008.
The firm already operates franchise outlets in the US, The Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.
O'Brien's said the next 18 months will see aggressive expansion in the M25 region with plans to open 50 franchise outlets and increase brand awareness across the capital to compete with the well-established Pret A Manger chain. It already has over 120 outlets in the UK.
The expansion will be predominantly franchise-led but O'Briens will also look to acquisitions of other chains.
O'Briens has signed a ten year agreement to open 30 stores in the subcontinent with a first store in New Delhi and has plans to open in Saudi Arabia, Finland, Italy and France.
