Burger King to open 30 new UK restaurants a year

Burger King UK has said it plans to open 30 new restaurants a year despite “softer” consumer sentiment and pressure from higher labour costs.

It came as the fast-food chain revealed stronger revenues despite a “challenging” economic backdrop.

The brand, which has 574 UK restaurants, said it will nevertheless continue its current expansion programme.

It revealed plans to open around 30 restaurants per year from 2026, with a focus on new company-owned sites.

Burger King reported there have been “further signs of improvement” across the business this year, pointing towards a slowdown in inflation.

It also highlighted that pressure on consumer finances and cost increases linked to last year’s budget have impacted the UK hospitality sector.

Alasdair Murdoch, chief executive of Burger King UK, said: “While inflation in food and utility costs has returned to more normal levels, the sector continues to face softer consumer sentiment and rising labour costs following significant increases in the national minimum wage and national living wage.”

Trading in 2025 has remained “robust”, with the group surpassing 1 billion US dollars (£748 million) in system-wide sales across the UK.

During the year, the group also signed an agreement to extend Burger King UK’s franchise right to the Republic of Ireland for the first time, providing the business with more opportunities for expansion.

It came as the company revealed its financial results for last year, reporting that revenues lifted 7% to £408.3 million in 2024.

It said like-for-like sales grew by 4.5% to £347 million, driven by home delivery sales and targeted market.

Meanwhile, underlying earnings rose by 12% to £26 million on the back of “disciplined cost control”.

Mr Murdoch added: “I am pleased to report another year of solid performance and strategic progress for Burger King UK in 2024.

“Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment and ongoing sector cost pressures, we delivered revenue growth, positive like-for-like sales, and improved underlying EBITDA through disciplined cost management and operational focus.”