The launch US brand The Habit Burger Grill in the UK has been placed in doubt after the company behind the UK franchise is believed to have faced an investment issue.
MCA understands that Pegasus Foods, which last year signed an exclusive franchise contract to bring The Habit Burger Grill to the UK and the Netherlands, has come up against a funding issue that has led to the project ceasing for the time being.
It is thought that Phil Cooke, former head of procurement for Patisserie Holdings and ex-procurement director at Deltic Group; and Tom Lannary, formerly of Hall & Woodhouse and Tragus, have both stepped down from Pegasus Foods.
At the same time, Paddy Adenuga, the founder, chairman, and chief executive of Pegasus Capital Investments, who was spearheading the project, has also left the business.
The franchise agreement, which was flagged up by MCA in September, would have seen the opening of the first two Habit Burger Grill restaurants in the suburbs of London in 2018 followed by a roll out of the brand across the UK.
Pegasus Foods, which is led by Phil Blackland, the former Cabana and Tragus director, was aiming to have 30 Habit Burger Grill restaurants in operation within the first five years of trading.
The franchise agreement marked The Habit Burger Grill’s first international agreement in Europe.
The Habit Burger Grill, established in Santa Barbara, California in 1969, was voted by American consumers as America’s best tasting burger and positions itself within the better burger market as a fast casual restaurant that “uniquely combines chargrilling over an open flame to create a delicious variety of fresh and flavourful burgers, sandwiches, salads, and more – served with genuine hospitality and a quality-first mind set”.
MCA previously revealed that Habit, which operates c200 sites in the US, with the majority in California, had appointed property advisors Lewis Tucker to seek appropriate 2,000sq ft to 3,000sq ft sites across the South East.
Target locations include Basingstoke, Bromley, Clapham, Chiswick, Croydon, Oxford and Vauxhall.
