KFC is to invest almost £1.5bn and create thousands of jobs in the UK and Ireland over the next five years, as the fast-food chain seeks to capitalise on the booming popularity of fried chicken.
The chain, which is celebrating its 60th year of operations in the UK, said it plans to invest £1.49bn to grow and upgrade its existing 1,000-outlet estate.
The company, formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, aims to invest £466m in opening 500 new restaurants in the UK and Ireland.
The focus will be on building sites and drive-through outlets in key locations for the business, such as the north-west of England.
Part of that investment will also include upgrading more than 200 restaurants, 20% of its existing estate.
The company said the expansion and upgrade plan would create more than 7,000 new jobs in its UK and Ireland business, and across its supply chain, over the next five years.
The roles that will be created include restaurant managers, kitchen workers, customer-facing staff and a newly created “guest experience lead role”.
Rob Swain, the general manager of KFC in the UK and Ireland, said: “We’ve never seen such strong demand for freshly prepared, fried chicken as we are seeing today.”
KFC estimates that the UK fried chicken market is worth £3.1bn annually, and it expects it to continue to grow, with new entrants in recent years including Popeyes, Wingstop, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Slim Chickens.
“We’ve been serving customers in the UK for 60 years now,” Swain said. “We are incredibly well positioned to unlock this opportunity. That’s why we are doubling down on our commitment.”
KFC estimates that its jobs creation scheme will cost it £583m, while £404m will go into “strengthening KFC’s longstanding relationships with its suppliers”.
KFC and its 27 franchise partners directly employ a total of 33,500 people in the UK and Ireland.
In February, trade bodies representing the UK hospitality industry said that more than two-thirds of businesses intended to cut staff after the government’s plan to increase national insurance contributions made by employers and raising the national minimum wage.
“Hospitality’s ability to create places where people want to live, work and invest is unrivalled,” said Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of the trade body UKHospitality. “This significant announcement from KFC is proof of that and will help to drive socially productive growth, deliver economically and support employment across the UK.”
