Wingstop, the quick-service hen chain which is Britain’s fastest-growing restaurant operator, is hoisting a “on the market” signal over its UK enterprise.
Sky Information has learnt that the corporate, which is majority-owned by the trio of entrepreneurs who introduced it to Britain in 2018, has employed Goldman Sachs to search out new homeowners.
Metropolis sources stated the sale had been initiated in response to unsolicited expressions of curiosity from potential consumers.
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Goldman is known to have begun issuing details about Wingstop UK – whose dad or mum firm is known as Lemon Pepper Holdings – to 3rd events within the final couple of weeks.
The doubtless valuation of the enterprise was unclear this weekend.
The corporate’s first website opened at Cambridge Circus in 2018. Pic: Wingstop
The sale is being launched as Wingstop prepares to launch its fiftieth outlet within the UK.
It’s aiming to have 57 websites open by the top of the yr, with substantial room for additional development even in a market saturated by rivals.
Sources stated the corporate believed it may in the end attain between 400 and 500 websites in Britain.
Wingstop has additionally grow to be one of many business’s greatest employers within the UK, with a workforce of about 2,200 individuals.
The chain has gained a cult following for its number of flavours, which embrace Louisiana Rub and Mango Habanero.
Celeb followers reportedly embrace the rappers Central Cee and Stormzy.
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It’s positioned as a premium different to KFC, and competes with the likes of Nando’s and Popeyes, which has additionally been accelerating quickly in recent times.
Chick-fil-A, the third-largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain within the US, has additionally introduced plans to enter the British market, saying final yr that it could open its maiden UK website in early 2025.
That announcement could clarify the timing of Wingstop UK’s homeowners’ resolution to launch a sale course of now, with higher competitors prone to keep pricing strain on hen chains.
Celeb followers reportedly embrace the rapper Central Cee. Pic: Wingstop
Wingstop’s first UK website opened at Cambridge Circus in central London in 2018 after Tom Grogan, Saul Lewin, and Herman Sahota persuaded the model’s American proprietor to signal a take care of them regardless of their lack of restaurant business expertise.
Wingstop’s US-headquartered enterprise is listed in New York, and has a market capitalisation of near $11bn (£8.6bn).
Its shares have greater than doubled prior to now yr.
The American firm additionally owns 20% of the UK operation, having acquired it in 2021 in a mirrored image of its perception in its development prospects.
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Wingstop’s trajectory in Britain belies that of an informal eating sector which has been beneath strain because the onset of the COVID pandemic.
Chains corresponding to Carluccio’s, Prezzo, and Pizza Hut had been both pressured into insolvency or savage restructurings which noticed a whole lot of website closures and 1000’s of redundancies.
Wingstop’s British operation can be partly owned by an unidentified exterior investor.
A spokesman for Wingstop UK declined to touch upon Saturday.
