Burger King parent Restaurant Brands Signs USD 1 Billion Deal To Purchase Firehouse Subs

Burger King parent Restaurant Brands has signed a deal to purchase US-based fast-food chain Firehouse Subs. With this, Restaurant Brands’ portfolio now has four major brands. Others in the portfolio are Popeyes, Tim Hortons, and Louisiana Kitchen. There have been reports for a long about the restaurant company looking for another fast-food chain. However, the company remained quite busy in its efforts to accelerate the growth of Popeyes. Reviving Tim Hortons also kept the company occupied of late. The Toronto-based company said the sandwich company restaurant has huge prospects in the quick-service restaurant industry.

“We can see a huge potential in Firehouse Subs in the United States market. The development expertise of Restaurant-Brands will be an added benefit. The sandwich company would also get a network of the global franchisee and digital capabilities of our brand,” said Jose Cil, chief executive officer of Restaurant Brands. Founded in 1994, the chain has around 1,200 locations in the United States. This is around three times more than the number of locations in 2010. The company was founded by former firefighters and brothers Robin and Chris Sorensen. Firehouse Subs is expecting USD 1.1 billion in system-wide sales this year. It is also important to mention that the company has registered an increase of 20 percent in same-store sales for the first 10 months of the year when compared to the same period two years ago.

Cil said that Firehouse Subs has a very talented team and impressive culture. “This resonated with guests and it will help in growing the company in coming days. The majority of the locations of the Jacksonville-based restaurant chain are operated by franchisees. This is exactly how other chains of Restaurant-Brands operate. The purchase of Firehouse Subs will be an all-cash deal and Restaurant-Brands will fund this through a combination of debt and the cash it has on hand. Even after the deal, headquarter of Firehouse will remain in Jacksonville, and both CEO and CFO are expected to stay.