Burger King UK owners considering new master franchise agreement

A new master franchise agreement between the UK and US-based owners of Burger King could result in fewer annual restaurant openings for the brand.

Sky News revealed the London-listed private equity firm Bridgepoint is "close to striking a long-term deal" with the US-based owner of Burger King, Restaurant Brands International (RBI).

It said the new agreement, due to be announced "within weeks", would require the owners of Burger King UK to invest in 20 new openings annually until 2034.

Sky News also reported that the talks arose out of Bridgepoint's "unhappiness about the financial returns it was seeing" amid high inflation.

In October last year, Burger King UK announced it is aiming to expand its owned and sub-franchised restaurant portfolio to 700 sites by 2026 and plans to open around one restaurant per week until the end of 2022.

Burger King, Bridgepoint and Restaurant Brands International have been contacted for comment.