Yum Brands' KFC today said it will acquire 218 restaurants from its largest franchisee EG Group in the UK and Ireland.
Once the deal is complete, all of the privately-owned EG Group's KFC UK and Ireland businesses will come under Yum's KFC UK and Ireland management.
The fast-food chain operator said it expects to finalise the transaction by the end of the first half of 2024.
It did not disclose financial terms of the deal.
EG Group said it continues to operate in the US, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and the UK, including its wholly-owned bakery business, Cooplands, as well as franchise businesses with the Starbucks, Subway, Greggs, Sbarro, Chaiiwala and Cinnabon brands.
Zuber Issa and Mohsin Issa, co-founders and co-chief executives of EG Group, said that now was the right time to hand the baton to the KFC leadership team to continue to grow the brand in the UK and Ireland.
"This is the latest transaction in our significant deleveraging this year to put in place a sustainable capital structure for the group," they said.
"We continue to make good progress against our key strategic priorities - delivering a world-class grocery and merchandise, foodservice and fuel proposition across nine markets globally," they added.
