Fast food industry to expand in the UK post-pandemic

Unlike the casual dinning sector, the fast food industry has experienced a sales boost during the pandemic. With people confined home by lockdowns, delivery and take-away sales have significantly increased and driven up same-store revenues.

Thus, it is not surprising how fast food chains are planning to aggressively expand in the UK market: Jollibee – the Filipino national fast food brand – is aiming to be in “every major city in the UK”, in the words of the European vice-president. The company plans to invest £30M in the market by opening 10 units in 2021 and an additional 15 in the following year. The first Jollibee for 2021 is to open on Leicester Square, London, in May 2021, when anti-covid restrictions will hopefully be removed.

Similarly, German Doner Kebab – the group launched in Berlin in 1989 – has announced a plan to develop more than 45 units in 2021 and generate 1800+ jobs in the market. Fireaway (a “fast pizza” company) and Wingstop (a US fried chicken chain) are also planning to open more units in 2021; so it is Wendy’s, which is preparing to come back to the UK after 20 years.

This recent fast food development is explicable by different factors among which the cultural closeness to the US and the shared language (elements that have always made UK a natural entrance for a European expansion); additionally, the pandemic-driven closures of many casual dining venues have opened opportunities in the English real estate market. Property prices have dropped significantly in many locations – even by 40% – allowing new players such as Jollibee, Wendy and others to come in.