Burger & Lobster is set to launch in the Middle East and is close to securing a franchise partner for an opening in Dubai next year.
According to M&C Report’s sister title Restaurant, the company, which will open its first international site this autumn in New York, is also considering many further offers for other places to open in the Middle East “and beyond”.
The company’s George Bukhov-Weinstein said: “We have had 65 companies around the world who have shown interest in becoming a franchise partner. It makes sense in countries such as the Middle East because they know the language and understand the various licensing laws.”
Bukhov-Weinstein said that the there was no strategy in place yet to open further sites in the US, but that if New York proved a success, the company would “definitely” start to look at other big cities, most likely Los Angeles and Chicago.
Turnover for the group, which currently operates six sites in the UK, stood at £17.7m in the year to 29 December 2013.
Burger & Lobster will open in a two-story space between Fifth and Sixth avenues in New York City.
Parent company Goodman plans to roll out its Burger & Lobster concept across the UK, as well as internationally, in the next couple of years, with a focus on both major and minor cities.
