Telepizza to open in UK, Iran, Malta and Saudi Arabia next year
Thursday, December 1, 2016 @ 9:46 AM
SPANISH fast food chain Telepizza plans to open 200 branches in Iran in the next 10 years, with the first due to be ready to trade by March next year in Teheran.
Present in nearly every middle-sized town in Spain and frequently on speed-dial among residents who hate cooking, Telepizza plans to go international with the help of its trading partner Momenin Investment Group (MIG) and a cash injection of €93.8 million (US$100m) between now and the end of 2026.
“Iran is an excellent opportunity, because there's no competition,” says the company's global chairman Giorgio Minardi.
The largest pizza chain outside of the USA in terms of number of branches, Telepizza will set up a factory in Teheran as well as its flagship outlet, which will be followed by seven more shops in the country by the end of 2017.
It will be the only western-run fast food chain to launch in the Muslim country, and is expected to seize a 25% to 30% of the Iranian market quota.
Iran has said it is 'open' to European corporate investment on its territory, and Telepizza will be the first.
And the chain is set to be yet another Spanish firm to break into the UK, along with the existing staples such as Banco Santander and Inditex – its first shop in Britain will open in the first quarter of next year through the company Karali Ventures Ltd.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com