Quiznos, the US sandwich chain, is looking to re-start its expansion in the UK by adding 15 sites by the end of next year under a new franchise model, M&C Report has learnt.
The company, which has sites in 34 countries, has operated three corporate outlets in the UK since a previous master franchise agreement was terminated in 2010. At its height there were c30 in the UK.
Jack Rai, Quiznos UK development agent, told M&C Report: “We believe in the UK market. We have people that have been franchisees of ours in the UK market and we haven’t been able to support them.
“We are coming into the UK and we’ve had a lot of interest. We are looking to open 15 sites by the end of next year.
“We are opening 200 sites globally this year. We’ve never gone away from the UK, it’s just we were looking for the right way forward.”
Using a model that has worked in Canada, there will be no master franchisee for the UK but instead individual franchisees will be given “corporate support”
Rai said he hoped to open the first new UK site in the City of London in the next four weeks. Quiznos is focusing on London and the south east for its initial expansion.
“We are talking to landlords, we are talking to Network Rail and some locations in the square mile. We are in negotiation on a number of sites.”
Rai said he hoped there would be a “snowball effect” of openings once the first 15 have begun trading.
Last year the US company announced that it was aiming for modest growth after it was rescued by hedge fund Avenue Capital as part of a debt restructuring deal.
